Rising Out of the Darkness
by fearthepurple
Summary: People are not always what they seem to be. The magical citizens are divided and war has erupted. Harry Potter is the child of legend and Prophecy and he must bring down the ones who betrayed his family and others.
1. Chapter 1

Peter Pettigrew walked nervously down the deserted halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His hands were balled into fists and he could feel the uncomfortable moisture from his sweaty palms. The source of his nervousness was right now seated in the Headmaster's office.

Earlier in the day he had been situated in his cubicle at the Department of Magical Transportation, sitting with his feet up on his desk and neglecting his work when and owl flew up to him. There was nothing abnormal about the owl, but it was surprising to Peter since he rarely received post from anyone. He quickly relieved the owl of its burden and opened the rolled piece of parchment. Peter read through the letter in no time seeing as it was only a few short lines. It was short, but the words were enough to spark a flurry of questions in Peter's head. Why would Albus Dumbledore be requesting his presence at Hogwarts at midnight? Peter assumed it had to be in relation to the Order of the Phoenix, but that was really just as strange. He usually never did anything for the Order, just sat through the meetings watching as others were given assignments. He was always jealous watching as James, Sirius, and Remus went out tracking suspected Death Eaters, although James went less frequently now that he had a son.

So Peter had spent the rest of his time at work contemplating Dumbledore's summons. And now he was walking down his old school's corridors, the place where he had learned magic, where he had met his best friends. He walked through the torchlight, just now remembering how disconcerting it was to walk the dark halls alone at night. The only sound that could be heard was the flicker of flame and the soft snoring of the dozing portraits.

As he reached the entrance to the office, he whispered the password that Dumbledore had supplied and the gargoyle sentry moved aside. Peter walked up the spiral staircase until he reached the office door. Just as he was about to knock, he heard Dumbledore's voice beckon him to enter. He turned the handle and walked in slowly, still transfixed at the Headmaster's ability to know someone was standing outside his office. Seated at his large, beautifully carved desk was Albus Dumbledore wearing a light blue dressing gown.

"Ah, Peter come in and have a seat. I'm pleased you received my owl."

Peter noticed the empty perched where Fawkes usually resided, then made his way over to the desk, taking the seat directly across from Dumbledore. "What can I do for you Headmaster?" Peter asked. "Is it Order business sir?"

"Hmm, no, not Order business," Dumbledore said distractedly. That was all he said before they lapsed into a dark silence. Finally, Dumbledore adjusted his half moon spectacles and looked back at his former pupil. "Tell me Peter, do you feel appreciated?"

"Excuse me sir, but what do you mean?" Peter inquired confused at the question.

Dumbledore smiled, "What I mean is do you feel that others respect you? Do your best friends treat you like a real friend? Does the ministry make good use of your talents?"

"I-I guess so sir," Peter stuttered.

"Really Peter?" Dumbledore questioned sounding severely skeptical. "I was under the impression that your so called friends barely even spoke to you, unless it was at Order meetings or if they needed you to do something. That doesn't sound like something that true friends would do." Peter squirmed under the Headmaster's gaze. He tried to disregard his words, but he knew what the Headmaster was saying was the utter truth. "Of course that's not really a change from your years at Hogwarts is it Peter? They only let you hang around with them because they felt sorry for you."

"That's not true," Peter interrupted half heartedly.

"Oh, it is Peter and you know it. Tell me, how did James, Sirius, and Remus finish with some of the highest marks at Hogwarts while you finished at the very bottom? Did they never even offer to help you with your studies? I would guess that they did not, but I am sure they had no problem letting you take the fall for one of their pranks on occasion."

"Why are you saying this sir? Why are you putting down your _prize _students?"

"Ah, there it is," whispered Dumbledore, "there is the bitterness and jealousy. Tell me Peter, are you jealous?"

"Of course I'm jealous," Peter said tightly, not even realizing he had a death grip on the arms of his chair. "James is a top auror with a beautiful wife and son _and_ he's a member of the Wizengamot. Sirius is an auror, he's rich, and he could have any women he wanted. I work a pointless job, make enough money to barely live on, and have no family. The only one I'm not jealous of is Remus and that's only because he's a werewolf. If it wasn't for that he could do anything he wanted." Another silence passed over them while Peter wondered if Dumbledore was trying to depress him enough to kill himself. He didn't need the Headmaster to remind him his life was horrible. Just as he was about to scoop up his remaining pride, Dumbledore spoke again.

"What would you say Peter, if I were to offer you a better life?"

"I would say that I was interested sir. What would I have to do?"

Dumbledore smirked evilly. "It's really quite simple Peter. All you have to do is pledge your allegiance to the Dark Lord."

Peter sat in the Headmaster's office gob smacked. The leader of the Order of the Phoenix was advising him to join Lord Voldemort. If he wasn't sure he was awake, he would've thought that this was some strange dream. He was certainly awake.

"You want me to join Lord Voldemort?"

"No," Dumbledore answered only serving to confuse Peter more.

"But you said-,"

"I said I wanted you to join the Dark Lord. Voldemort is not the Dark Lord…I am." Seeing that Peter was about to pass out Dumbledore continued. "I have been studying and practicing the Dark Arts for more than a century and have devoted my life to them. What everyone sees when they look at me is the great Albus Dumbledore, leader of the light and great educator. All of that is just a façade, a mask of my true self. The true me loves to torture an kill, loves to use his power against others. I have managed to fool everyone, even my stupid bird, who you I am sure noticed has disappeared. The reason I began teaching was that it gave me a unique opportunity to be around magical children. Over the years I have been able to hand pick students and educate them on the value of the Dark Arts. I have my own army at my beck and call, and half of the ministry is under my influence, including the minister himself. They are working right now to put forth my agenda of pureblood superiority. Do you have any questions so far Peter?"

Peter brought himself out of a stupor enough to ask, "If you are the Dark Lord then who is Lord Voldemort?"

"That is an interesting story," Dumbledore began while absently stroking his long beard. "Almost fifty years ago, while I was still a professor, Headmaster Dippet sent me to a muggle orphanage to inform a child of his acceptance to Hogwarts. I had figured it to be just another random mudblood, but what I found was of great importance. You see, I just happened to stumble upon the Heir of Slytherin. While I had already begun teaching some of my students the art of Dark Magic, I was still looking for someone worthy to pass the majority of my knowledge to. And here I had him, the perfect candidate. He hated his muggle father, could speak to snakes, and took pleasure in the torture of the other children. It was so easy to mold little Tom Riddle into Lord Voldemort. He became my second in command. He is out doing my bidding while I sit in this school and make people believe that I actually care about their worthless children. We can offer you so much Peter. You can have money, you can have power, and you can have as many whores as you please. All you must do is one little thing."

"And what is that?"

"Just give up the Potters," Dumbledore stated seriously. "Oh yes Peter, I know. James came up with that horrid idea of using the fidelius charm on his home to protect his family, even though I tried to talk him out of it. Sirius is on assignment and a werewolf can not be trusted to keep secrets. Using some insane logic, I'm sure they thought it would be smart to make the least obvious of their friends the secret keeper. That would be you, obviously."

"Why do you want the Potters?" Peter questioned not at all denying the fact that he was the secret keeper.

"An employee from the department of mysteries came to James recently and informed him that a prophecy had been made that said his son would have the power to defeat the Dark Lord. Naturally James came to me for advice, but refused to tell me the entire contents of the prophecy. I told him that it was nothing to worry over, but he didn't believe me and came up with that troublesome Fidelius idea. I need Harry Potter dead, and I will do what needs to be done to make sure it happens. I need you Peter and I can make your life so much better."

Peter sat back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. What was he supposed to do? Could he give up his so called friends? _Why not? They used me as a last_ _resort to be their secret keeper and they expect me to just give up my life to protect theirs. No way that is happening. _"Alright, I'll do it."

"Excellent Peter," Dumbledore smiled sadistically. "Now I want you to go home and wait for Lord Voldemort. He will fit you with the Dark Mark and give you orders. All you have to do is give him a simple address and then you will be one of us."


	2. Chapter 2

October 31, 1981

"Auror Potter, here are those papers you requested."

James Potter's head snapped up off his desk abruptly at the sound of the voice. He wiped the sleep out his eyes while peering around his office looking for the source. It took him a few moments for him to realize his assistant Samuels was standing in the doorway. The young man, just a year younger than James himself, raised his brow at the image of his boss.

"Sorry Samuels, I must have dozed off. These long nights are starting to catch up with me. What papers are those?" James asked while trying to pat down his disheveled hair.

"The prisoner transfer forms sir," Samuels responded setting the forms down on the surface of James' cluttered desk.

"Oh, right," James muttered darkly. "I swear I've been through the ministry's whole bloody supply of them. Half the people I'm escorting to Azkaban aren't even Death Eaters! Someone needs to stand up to Crouch and tell him that we have to start giving trials again. I swear I send them to prison and then a week later Voldemort has them out!"

"Why don't you do it sir?"

"Believe me, I've tried," James said exasperated. "I just can't acquire enough votes in the Wizengamot to overturn anything. Not to mention the Minister won't give me the time of day."

James stood up from his chair and began pacing the room. The whole state of the Wizarding world was beginning to take its toll on his nerves. It was bad enough working late, but what was worse was he was leaving Lily to stay and take care of Harry constantly. His son was just over a year old and he barely got to spend time with him. James couldn't lie to himself, he was actually considering quitting; it wasn't like they needed the money. His parents had died shortly after he left Hogwarts, and being an only child he was left everything. The Potters were an old pureblood family which possessed a substantial amount of money and most notable, a seat on the Wizengamot.

"What about Dumbledore?" Samuels asked, distracting James from his thoughts.

"Don't even get me started on Dumbledore. That old man infuriates me sometimes. He preaches equality to the public and to the press, but when it comes time to act on it he does nothing. I went to him for advice the other day to ask how to best protect my family and he tells me to do nothing, nothing! It wouldn't surprise me if he was playing us all for fools."

Samuels' eyes opened widely at James' exclamation. "You can't be serious sir? He's the leader of the light, he fights Death Eaters!"

James snorted at that comment. "Albus Dumbledore does not fight Death Eaters. The Order of the Phoenix fights Death Eaters, but seeing as Dumbledore is the leader he gets the credit. Not getting the credit doesn't bother me; it's the fact that more and more are willing to blindly follow him on false reporting. I've watched some of my friends and colleagues die and Dumbledore acts like it's of no great importance. Frankly, the man scares me, but there's nothing that can be done about it." James sat back down in his chair, shook his head and sighed wearily. "Thank you for bringing me the forms Samuels. You should go home, it's already late. Why don't you take tomorrow off as well? I think I can manage one day without you."

"Thank you sir," Samuels said brightly. "You should get home too sir, you look exhausted. I'm sure your family misses you as well."

"As soon as I finish these I'll be on my way. Have a good night." James watched as Samuels waved and retreated out of his office. He looked down at the blank forms in disgust. Realizing that they weren't going anywhere, he decided to leave them for the next day. No one would chastise him for his procrastination, and if they did, well, then maybe he would be fired and spared the torture and monotony of gracing the ministry with his presence every day.

He took the piles of papers from the top of his desk and stored them into one of the drawers that had some spare room. Standing from his chair, he picked up his black cloak that had fallen on the floor and pulled it on. Waving his wand he extinguished the office lights. Everyone seemed to of had the same idea to head home because the ministry halls were crowded on the way to the Apparation points. It took him nearly fifteen minutes, but finally he appeared in front of his home at Godric's Hollow.

The town of Godric's Hollow was relatively small. It was home to both muggle and magical alike. The muggles either didn't notice or chose to ignore any of the strange things that occurred around the town on a regular basis. The house that James bought after Lily agreed to marry him wasn't extraordinary, but was still very comfortable for a small family. The two story house was situated on the outskirts of town, nestled into a copse of trees. While its location provided privacy, it also ensured nobody would become suspicious of the missing house that was currently under the fidelius charm. James reminded himself that he needed to get Peter to tell Remus and Sirius the location of the house.

He looked at the front of the house and noticed that Lily had left the kitchen and porch lights on for him. Harry's nursery was dark so he guessed the little guy was sleeping. James walked up the front steps and opened the front door as quietly as he was able to. The sitting room was completely dark so James felt around the wall for the light switch. That was one advantage to living in a partially muggle town: electricity. Lily had given him a crash course in muggle technology and he couldn't deny that he was somewhat addicted to the television.

Finally locating the light switch, James flipped and the room came into view. He was momentarily surprised when he saw the figure of his wife sleeping on the dark brown, leather sofa. He walked over and knelt on the floor at the end where her head was. Reaching over with his right hand, he pushed her crimson hair away from her face and leaned down, placing a kiss gently on her forehead. He watched as she stirred and was greeted with the sight of her beautiful emerald eyes staring up at him, the same ones she shared with their son.

"Hey, I must have fallen asleep. I wanted to be up when you got home," Lily whispered as she stretched her limbs.

"You should have gone to bed. I'm sure my favorite son kept you busy all day."

"He wasn't too bad, although he keeps scurrying about, trying to get into your study; he's trying to get your bloody broom. I told you, you shouldn't have taken him flying; now he's going to be addicted just like his father."

"And what's so bad about that?" James asked amused.

Lily finally sat up on the couch and scowled at her husband. "The problem is he's going to give his poor mother a heart attack."

James laughed heartily at that comment. "Do we have anything to eat? I was so busy today that I worked right through lunch."

Lily reached over and ran her hands through his messy hair. "Of course, I saved a plate of dinner for you. Why don't you go and change and I'll heat it up?"

James leaned over and pecked Lily on the lips. "I love you, you're the best. I'll be down in a minute." He stood up off of the hardwood floor, hearing them creak under his shifting weight. As he made his way up the stairs he heard Lily starting to move around in the kitchen.

He reached the top of the steps and looked to the right where Harry's nursery was located. Deciding to check in on him, he proceeded to open the door and maneuver around the dark room until he reached the crib against the far wall. Harry, who was wearing a pair of quidditch pajamas that James had picked out, was sleeping peacefully and holding onto his tiny stuffed dragon. The dragon had been a gift from Sirius and James swore he had never seen Harry go anywhere without it. Realizing he was starting to push his luck by being in the room so long with a sleeping child, he leaned down and kissed his son. Just being in the room with his son reminded James of how much time he was spending away from his family. Straight up, he was sick of his job and he knew what he wanted to do about it. He would have to talk to his wife about it though.

He quickly made his way out of Harry's room and went to his, slipping into a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. Quietly descending down his stairs, he walked into the kitchen and saw a plate of food waiting for him at the table. Lily was at the stove making a pot of tea. He sat down at the table, and wasting no time, dug into his wife's cooking. James was extremely thankful that his wife was such a good cook, but he was so hungry that it probably wouldn't have mattered if it had tasted horrible. Lily walked over with two teacups in her hands, placing one in front of James and one in front of where she seated herself.

"So what was work like today?" Lily asked before taking a sip of her tea.

James finished chewing the food that was currently in his mouth and sat down his fork. "Pretty much the same as every other day which is depressing. I spend half my day chasing Death Eaters on bad information. Then I come back and sit at my desk for hours and hours filling out paperwork. We honestly don't accomplish anything." James looked over cautiously at his wife. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

Noticing the troubled features on her husband's face Lily reached over and placed her hand over his own. "James, you know you can tell me anything."

James nodded and smiled at her quickly before quickly sobering. "Well, I was thinking of leaving my job," he said waiting for Lily to react.

He had expected her to be surprised or upset, but she didn't look either of those things. "Why do you want to leave?"

James laughed, "There are an abundance of reasons that I want to leave. I can't stand most of the people who work there, the Minister is a complete idiot, and I am tired of filling out bloody paperwork that serves absolutely no purpose. May-Eye had the right idea when he left, or retired as he referred to it." The day that Alastor Moody decided to retire was ingrained into James mind for all eternity. He was actually considering using it as his happy memory the next time a patronus was required. The Minister had sent Moody on assignment to Germany on some shady information that there was a training base for Death Eaters, and a week later Moody came back, he had found not a single trace of a Death Eater. He stormed into the Minister's office, stunning his body guards in the process, and officially retired from the Aurors. That hadn't been enough for Moody though. He transfigured the Minister's regal, expensive desk into a school child's desk, and walked out, muttering about the government's ineptitude in some very colorful terms. His grand finale though, was the highlight of the event. On his way out he was about to pass Lucius Malfoy when the small minded man felt the need to heckle the famous Auror. Before anyone knew what happened, Moody had pulled out his wand and turned Malfoy into a duck.

"James!" Lily yelled trying to regain her husband's attention.

James shook his head and looked back at Lily sheepishly. "Sorry, sometimes my mind just wanders to the image of Malfoy the duck waddling and quacking around the atrium."

"It's alright sweetheart," Lily consoled, "just as long as the reason you want to quit isn't that you want to turn Malfoy into a duck. You don't have to quit to do that. I give you my permission to do it anytime you want."

"I swear that's not the reason," James said grinning. "Actually the main reason that I want to quit is because of you."

If Lily wasn't surprised before, she most certainly was now. "Why am I the reason you want to quit?"

"Well not just you," James immediately corrected, "you and Harry both. I spend so much time at the Ministry now that I barely get to see you two. The only time we get to be together anymore is when I get home from work late at night. And Harry, he's my son, and the only time I get to see him he's usually asleep. I don't want to miss him growing up. If my mother and father were still alive they would be hexing me for the amount of time that I spend at work. My dad had the right idea; he stayed on the Wizengamot and took care of our family's finances, but all the rest of the time was devoted to us. That's what I want to do too."

Lily stood up from her chair and took a seat in James' lap. She placed both of her arms around his neck. "If that's what you want to do, then you have my complete support. What are we going to do about the prophecy though?"

James mood immediately darkened at the thought of the prophecy. "We have to hope that we find some way to take down the Dark Lord without getting him involved. If that doesn't work, then we'll just wait until he's old enough to understand and explain it to him. I'll make it my life's main goal to make sure he can defend himself if that's the case." They sat in silence for several minutes, James absently stroking Lily's back. Suddenly though, he felt her body go completely rigid. Startled, James looked up at her face.

"What is it, what's wrong?" James questioned panicked.

Lily lifted her hand and shakily pointed it towards the kitchen window. "I swear I just saw something move outside," she whispered. James gathered his strength and lifted Lily up, placing her back in her chair. He slipped his wand out of his pajama pants and swiftly made his way to the window. As he looked outside, he suddenly felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head. He turned around and looked wide eyed at his wife.

"Lily, go get Harry now! It's _him! _That fucking rat gave us up!"


	3. Chapter 3

James watched as his wife ran up the stairs to grab their son, and then ran to the front door. He used every type of spell or enchantment he could think of on the door, just trying to buy them some time. Immediately he knew that Voldemort had reached the front door because it raddled under the force of an impacting spell. There were several cracks running along the front wall now, but James' shields seemed to be holding. The next spell hit, but with substantially more power than the first. The whole house shook and the sound of various object falling and breaking echoed.

Just as James saw Lily carrying a miraculously still sleeping Harry down the steps, the front door finally gave way. He turned and saw the form of Voldemort walk purposefully into the room. His face was obscured somewhat by his hooded cloak, but his blood red eyes were clearly visible.

"Good evening Potters. I'm so sorry to intrude upon your evening, but unfortunately it was unavoidable. Now I was told that there was a little one here, ah there he is, right with his mudblood mother. If you both would do me the great service of moving out the way, I need to dispose of _it,_" Voldemort snarled looking disgustedly at the child.

James knew something was wrong halfway through Voldemort's speech. Why was he coming to kill just Harry? How could he possibly know about the prophecy, the only people who knew were himself and Lily and of course the Unspeakable who had told him in the first place, but the Unspeakable had taken an unbreakable vow with James not to tell. He had only mentioned it briefly to…Oh no!

"Stay away from my family you bloody monster. Go back to your master, Dumbledore, and tell him that I'm going to kill him!" James yelled enraged at yet another realized betrayal. He heard Lily clearly gasp behind him and Voldemort's slit eyes were opened to the max.

Voldemort quickly steeled his appearance and an evil grin took over his face. He began to clap mockingly. "Very well done Potter, you are the first one to ever figure it out. I'm actually surprised that you didn't do it earlier. After all, did you really think it was a coincidence that I would show up wherever my master sent you on those foolish Order missions? Even before he heard about this prophecy he was trying to kill you and your wife, trying to set you up. I came here tonight with the intent to just kill the child and allow you to live in grief, but now it seems that there will have to be three corpses." Voldemort raised his wand and sent that feared green light straight at James' chest. James, realizing immediately what was coming, summoned the nearest chair directly into the path of the curse. It exploded sending pieces of wood and cloth around the room. Harry instantly woke up from his slumber, screaming his little lungs out at the sound of the explosion. Trying not to be distracted by his son's cries, James slashed his wand and sent a cutting curse at his opponent, hitting him in the shoulder and leaving a deep gash. Voldemort howled in rage clutching his wound, attempting to stop the flow of blood. Noticing that he was now distracted, James lowered his shoulders and ran full speed at the man whose named was feared by most, spearing him back into the wall.

James had thought that he was by no question physically stronger than the aging Dark Wizard, but he had underestimated him somewhat. After they crashed into the wall, Voldemort took his balled fist and threw it into James stomach, knocking the wind out him. He quickly pushed James onto the floor and looked towards Lily and Harry. He raised his wand, pointing it at the child and just as he muttered his second killing curse, he was taken out at his legs.

James looked on in complete horror as the curse headed straight for his family. His heart felt like it was in a vice, he watched as his wife turned around putting her back straight in the path of the curse. The next event happened in what felt like extremely slow motion. The curse stayed true, but as it was about to impact his wife, the light seemed to shatter and small bits of it were deflected everywhere, one bit impacting the small child in the forehead.

"No!" James screamed, jumping from the floor and running towards his family. He had watched the small bit of green hit his son and he feared the worst. It was impossible to tell though, as his wife was hugging the child so closely to her body. Not even sparing a glance at his wife, he lifted the child's head off of her shoulder and felt his whole body sag with relief as his son blinked at him. The only thing off was a jagged scar on his forehead. His relief was quickly tempered though, as he remembered who was still currently residing in his home. He turned around and saw Voldemort in the process of picking himself off of the floor. Tired of fighting, James aimed his wand and, using a curse he had picked up in during a late night visit to the Hogwarts Library's restricted section, sent a silver spike at Voldemort. The spike sailed through the air and before he even had a chance to act, the supposed Dark Lord had been impaled through the chest and attached to the wall, dropping his wand in the process. He wailed in agony as he struggled to free himself without any success. James stared at him with no sense of mercy or regret. This man who had come into his home, who had come to kill his son: James conjured a knife out of nowhere and squeezed it tightly in his right hand. He walked straight up to Voldemort, standing barely inches away.

"You thought you could come into my home and touch my family?" James whispered, turning the knife around in his hand.

Voldemort brought his hands up to the spike, trying hopelessly one more time to pull it out. "I will get you eventually P-Potter. My master w-will destroy you and all of the filth l-like y-you," Voldemort stuttered, coughing up blood in the process.

"It's too bad, you won't be there to fucking see it," James stated before he raised the knife and slammed it straight through Voldemort's right eye. His body began to spasm before it completely ceased moving all together. James stepped back slowly, barely able to comprehend the fact that he had just killed the second most evil thing that had resided in the country. There was still the person that resided in the first spot to take care of though.

James turned around and found Lily falling onto a couch with Harry still snuggled deeply in her arms. She looked like she was between fainting and screaming at the moment so James went over and placed his arms around her and his son.

"J-James, what did you mean about Dumbledore?" Lily asked shakily.

James drew back and looked his wife square in her eyes. "He's been playing us all Lily; he's been the Dark Lord all along. He was the only one who could have said anything about the prophecy, and Voldemort just admitted it himself."

Lily nodded her in understanding. "But what do we do now?"

"Pack up some things; we're going over to Sirius'. I don't know if he's gotten back from assignment yet, but I need to speak with him before we can do anything. Be quick because I'm sure this place is going to be surrounded with Death Eaters when Voldemort fails to come back. Let's go."

James went and stood at the door, standing guard while Lily and Harry went upstairs to pack. He held his wand tight in his shaking hand. His heart rate had still not come down from the moment that he had seen Voldemort walking towards their home. He tried to take some deep, calming breaths, but it wasn't working well. Looking over to the wall where Voldemort's body was currently bleeding out, he decided to make it more difficult for the Death Eaters to find. James waved his wand and the spike holding the body up dissolved, leaving a gaping chasm in the chest. He didn't even flinch as the body crashed to the ground. Quickly making up his mind, he banished the body away, sending it to the Shrieking Shack outside of Hogwarts. Hearing footsteps, James turned around to see his wife holding a small bag, which had obviously been expanded on the interior, and Harry who was still wide awake.

Lily looked at her husband confused. "What happened to him?"

James noticed she was staring at the spot on the wall Voldemort's body had previously adorned. "I banished his body. It should buy us a little bit of time while their out looking for him. Did you get everything you needed?"

Lily nodded. "Yes I grabbed us a few sets of clothes and the things Harry needs. How are we going?"

"The floo," James replied. "Sirius has anti-Apparation wards on his house, but the floo will let us right in. Here, hand me Harry and you go through first with the bag." James went over reaching for his son, who wrapped his tiny arms around his father's neck. He watched as Lily grabbed some powder out of a jar on the mantle and disappeared in a burst of crackling green flames. James walked over to the mantle, grabbed some powder for himself, and making sure he was gripping Harry tightly, disappeared like his wife.

When he appeared on the other side, Lily was in the process of lowering her bag onto the ground. James looked around at the place that Sirius called home. He hadn't been around the place for a couple months, but not much had changed. It was a single level home, but was still large. There were three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen that was rarely used, and a gigantic sitting room. If no one knew who actually lived in the house, they would think that it was Godric Gryffindor. Everything from the rugs to the walls was maroon and gold. James and Lily were extremely proud of the fact that they had been in Gryffindor for seven years, but they did love it enough to make everything the same two colors. On one occasion that had left Harry with his godfather for several hours, and when they returned, their son maroon and gold striped hair. James couldn't contain his laughter after Lily had punched Sirius in the stomach for messing with her son.

James handed Harry over to his mother while he went in search for Sirius. His search was proved unnecessary when a bleary eyed Sirius stumbled out of the hallway that led to his bedroom, his wand pointing at James before realizing who it was.

"Prongs? What the hell are you doing here, not that I don't enjoy seeing you? I could've had a female companion over for all you know."

Normally James would have made a remark about that, but he wasn't really in the mood for it at the moment. "Sirius, we've got really bad news."

"It must be important for all of you to be here at this time of night," Sirius added taking a seat on the maroon couch.

"Sirius, Voldemort showed up at our house," Lily said entering the conversation.

"What!" Sirius shouted, jumping to his feet, "What do you mean Voldemort showed up at your house? Where is he now?"

"He's dead," James replied calmly.

"What, that's terrific James. The Dark Lord's gone, we should be celebrating."

"Voldemort's not the Dark Lord Sirius. You better sit back down."

James and Lily spent the next half hour explaining to Sirius everything that was going on. They told him about the prophecy, and making Peter the secret keeper. Sirius had been hurt that he hadn't been asked, but was fine after James explained it was just a matter of him not being around. James then went onto explain how he had told Dumbledore a significant part of the prophecy, thus leading him to send Voldemort to their home to kill Harry.

"What about the part with the Dark Lord marking Harry?" Sirius questioned.

Lily lifted the now sleeping Harry's head up for Sirius to see. He nodded after he saw the jagged scar. "I think since it was actually Dumbledore sending Voldemort to kill Harry, that it counts as him marking him. I just wish I knew what happened with the killing curse, it should have hit me square in the back," Lily shook her head frustrated.

"Let's just be thankful right now that it didn't," James stated, wrapping an arm around her. "The problem we have now is what do we do about Dumbledore?"

"You and I should grab Remus and head to Hogwarts. We'll take the bastard out," Sirius answered confidently.

"As much as I want to kill him Sirius, it's not that simple. First of all, I'm pretty sure that Dumbledore could fight the three of us with his eyes closed. Second, if by some miracle we were to actually kill him, there wouldn't be any proof for the public that he was evil. They see a dead Headmaster and all of us are on a trip to Azkaban for a very long time. We have to do this by the books, which means going through the ministry."

"That's all well and good James, but what if Dumbledore has the Ministry eating out of his pockets. It could go very bad," reasoned Sirius.

"If that's the case then we need to find out who we can trust. We'll secure this place and leave Lily here with Harry. Then we need to get to work."


	4. Chapter 4

"James, what are we supposed to accomplish here?"

"We need to let everyone in the Wizengamot know what's going on. If I can convince them to take a look at my memory from earlier it should be enough to convince them," James responded. He walked with Sirius down the halls of the Ministry as members of the Wizengamot began arriving for the Emergency meeting that he had requested. They hadn't caught a glimpse of Dumbledore yet, but James felt that was a blessing, not knowing if he could refrain from attacking him. As they reached the meeting chamber they could see that the majority of the group was present, only the higher ups had yet to show. Looking around at the disgruntled members, he knew they were not pleased at being woken at such a late hour. James made his way to his usual seat, Sirius plopping down next to him.

"Potter, what's going on? What's the purpose of this?"

James turned to his left and saw that it had been Amelia Bones, the head of his department who had asked the question. "Listen Amelia, I've found out some extremely important information. I won't say anything yet, but you have to believe that everything I have to say is the absolute truth. I need your support if anything is to happen."

Amelia stared at him a moment before answering. "I trust you James, your one of the best aurors I know."

James smiled appreciatively, "Thank you Amelia. That means a lot to me. Trust me on this; what I have to tell is…" James didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as he saw the man of the hour enter the chamber. Dumbledore was wearing very uncharacteristic black robes and was flanked by the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, and one of the Minister's biggest supporters, Abraxas Malfoy. Dumbledore moved to his seat as head of the Wizengamot while Fudge took the Minister's chair. James could see Dumbledore scanning the room until his eyes locked onto his own. They stared each other down for several long seconds before Dumbledore gave a smirk that chilled James down to the bone. Dumbledore rose out of his chair and the noise level suddenly dropped off in the chamber.

"I thank you all for making it on such short notice. I was most surprised when I was awoken not but an hour ago and notified that someone had requested an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot," Dumbledore stated, annoyance clearly written in his features. "Now would the person who requested the meeting please rise and state their business so we may get back to our beds."

James was nervous, there was no question. His palms were sweaty and his heart was beating franticly. He turned to his right and saw Sirius giving him an encouraging smile. He slowly stood up in his seat, trying his best not to focus on the fact that every set of eyes in the chamber was now looking upon him. "I was the one who called for this meeting Dumbledore and you sure as hell already know what it's about!" James growled.

"I'm sorry Mr. Potter, but I assure you I have not a clue to what you are referring."

"Oh, you know old man." James turned away from Dumbledore so that he could glance around at the whole assembled group. "Witches and wizards, this man is not what he claims to be. He has been lying to us all and he has betrayed us!" He paused for a second to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. "Earlier this evening, I was sitting in my kitchen with my wife when we saw the form of Lord Voldemort making his way to our front door." James paused again as his words drew a variety of reactions from the crowd. "Voldemort forced his way into our home and stated that he had come to kill us and our son. He said something though, that didn't make sense and I figured out a secret. Lord Voldemort is not the Dark Lord. Dumbledore is," James accused, pointing at the esteemed headmaster.

The entire chamber rose to its feet in an uproar. Some were just confused, a majority were screaming the absurdity of the claim. Dumbledore sat in his seat not looking concerned or uttering a single word. Finally, the Minister shot sparks out of his wand and called for order.

"Albus do you have a response to these claims," Fudge questioned.

Dumbledore arose once again, another smile gracing his face. "Congratulations, Mr. Potter, you have revealed my secret." Just a small group of people in the chamber now looked shocked that Albus Dumbledore had just admitted to being the Dark Lord. James was starting to become worried. Why wasn't the whole Wizengamot up screaming for his head? "Ladies and gentlemen of the Wizengamot, I am indeed the Dark Lord. Well, most of you already know that don't you?" Dumbledore joked. A majority of the crowd now laughed with him while the others looked extremely disturbed.

James now felt completely enraged. "How can you all sit there and laugh? Do you have any idea what this monster has done? He's been the one ordering attacks on our people, he's been in complete control of the actions of Voldemort and the Death Eaters!"

Dumbledore just looked at James condescendingly. "Mr. Potter, this is where you are wrong. I have not been attacking the Wizarding World; I have only been attacking the scum that tries to inhabit it. I am extremely tired of dealing with the mudblood filth who thinks they are equal to purebloods. The purebloods who have decided to degrade themselves by courting with mudbloods are just as bad," Dumbledore exclaimed, taking a shot directly at James. "I do, of course, have the greatest of sympathy for the half bloods who feel that what their parents have done is shameful. There will be no one to stop them from joining our cause, and they will be welcomed with open arms." At this point James was apoplectic. The comment about mudbloods hit too close to home for James and Sirius was now physically holding him back.

"You're fucking sick Dumbledore!" James screamed, still being restrained. "I'm going to kill you, just like I killed your pathetic pet, Voldemort!"

Dumbledore's jovial attitude quickly changed at the end of James' shouting. His eyes turned dark and the torches that lit the chamber began to flicker. "I assume that is the reason why the Dark Mark burned on my skin earlier, and why my Death Eaters have been unable to find him?" James didn't know whether the question was rhetorical or not, but he didn't answer either way. "Where is he Mr. Potter?"

"I'll let you know as soon as you surrender," he growled.

The frightening smile returned to Dumbledore's face. "It is of no matter Potter, I will find him eventually." Dumbledore walked down onto the floor of the ovular chamber, his wand now held firmly in his hand. "I will not be surrendering; in fact, the Minister has kindly agreed to hand over his position to myself. Now as my first act as Minister, I would like to put forward a proposal for a new Ministerial Decree." The whole chamber sat at attention on the benches, waiting for Dumbledore to announce his plan.

"The time has come for Wizards and Witches to step forward and take their rightful place in this country as the superior beings. We should no longer have to conceal ourselves in the shadows for fear of being seen by pathetic muggles. We shall seize control of Britain and eject all who are unworthy! We shall no longer sully ourselves with the presence of muggles, mudbloods, and blood traitors!" Dumbledore shouted to the approval of most of the chamber. One by one, the pureblood elite rose from their seats, applauding to the great appreciation of Dumbledore who was basking in the admiration. "Now, now, settle down please. The decree that I would like you to pass I have titled the Eradication Act. Following the passing of this act, every witch or wizard who will not swear their allegiance to me and Britain, along with every mudblood, will be exiled. If they do not leave within a predetermined time, then they are deemed criminals and will be hunted down and killed."

"Now as the leader of the Wizengamot, I call for a vote. All those in favor of the Eradication Act, please raise your arms."

James looked around at his fellow wizards and watched painfully as over three quarters lifted their arms in affirmation. On each side of him Sirius and Amelia Bones, were watching as well, equally shocked. He couldn't understand how all of this was happening. Just hours ago he had come home expecting to go to bed and prepare for another boring day of work, but now he was watching as Britain's Wizard Community fell into the hands of a Dictator. His family and many others had just been voted out of the country.

"Ah this is excellent, now we can move forward. The news will be printed for everyone to see tomorrow morning in the Daily Prophet."

"And what if the people don't take this lying down Dumbledore?" James interrupted. "What if the people come together and stand against you?"

James thought that the new Minister was ignoring him, because Dumbledore began walking towards the closed chamber door, but then he turned towards him again. "I'm so glad you asked Mr. Potter. Allow me to introduce you to the new protectors of Wizard Britain; my new Army." Dumbledore tapped the doors twice with his wand and then took several strides backwards.

The magnificent oak doors that closed off the chamber slowly began to open inwards being pulled by an invisible force. For several long seconds there was no sign of activity, but then what could only be described as a clicking sound was heard. The clicking gradually began to increase volume until it felt as if it was upon the chamber. Most were standing, waiting to see what was in store. Then suddenly, marching in rows of ten, around one hundred soldiers marched into the chamber, spreading out around the center of the room. The men were heavily armed. They looked like soldiers straight out of the Medieval Age. They dressed in full suits of shining silver armor, swords sheathed on their belts, wearing black cloaks over the entire thing. In the middle of the breast plate, the dark mark was carefully engraved. James recognized half of them as wanted Death Eaters and known associates, including Lucius Malfoy. The other half he had never even seen before.

"Impressive, aren't they?" Dumbledore asked the crowd. "And these are simply a sample. These men you see here are all officers and generals of the first ever Wizard Army of Britain. They command a force that is over twenty thousand strong and is growing constantly. We have already taken control of England, Scotland, and Wales. Once we take Ireland, all of the United Kingdom will be under pureblood Wizard control."

"And what of the muggles Dumbledore?" A voice from the crowd called out.

"That is one of the more complicated aspects of this plan. We cannot simply rid ourselves of the muggles all at once. As much as I would like to kill every one of them, we must slowly break them down. We take over the minds of the country's leaders and have them destroy the muggle society from the inside. We will strip down the economy, make it so there are massive job losses. The muggles will be so dissatisfied that they will begin leaving. We'll close our borders to all outsiders and become isolated. Once we have removed the majority of the muggles, we will then kill or enslave the rest."

James was only now mildly paying attention to his former headmaster's proclamations. While the rest of the audience was now singularly focused on Dumbledore, he was having his own whispered conversation with Sirius.

"Padfoot, I need you to do something while no ones paying us any mind."

Sirius stared back at his best friend and nodded. "What is it?'

"Change into your Animagus form and sneak out of the room. The door is still open so you won't have to worry about that. Once you get out, you need to get down into the Department of Mysteries and destroy the prophecy that has Harry's name on it. Dumbledore only knows that Harry will have the power to defeat him, not that he's the only one who can do it, that's why it's so important that he doesn't get to it. Once you're done, head right back to your place and I'll meet you there. Hopefully this spectacle will be over by then."

"Alright Prongs, wish me luck." Sirius began to lean down as if he had dropped something, then in the blink of an eye switched into the black canine. Somehow he had managed to draw no attention, and James watched as he maneuvered his way quickly underneath the seats. Once he saw that he had made it through the main door, he looked back at Dumbledore.

"Now, my fellow Wizengamot members, it has come time to see where the lines will be drawn. If you have ties to mudbloods or muggles, then leave this chamber now. If you do not support me, then use the time you have left to pack and leave the country before I send my forces to dispose of you. All of my followers will have the Dark Mark branded into their skin to prove their loyalty, as soon as the filth leaves."

That was all the invitation that James needed. He stood tall and proud with his chin up, as he made his way down towards the door. When he reached the doorway he turned around to see if anyone had followed his lead. To say that he was disappointed would have been a great understatement. There were people who had remained in their seats that he thought he knew better. He couldn't understand how a man like Arthur Weasley, who worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, could still be standing with Dumbledore. There were about twenty besides himself who were leaving the chamber, thankfully including his boss Amelia Bones. Once the small group had exited, the doors were swiftly sealed shut.

The group all stood huddle together for several moments, most still in a complete state of shock. Noticing that no one was doing anything, James decided that he needed to take charge.

"Alright, everybody listen up. We need to discuss what's going on, but we can't do it here. I want you all to go home, and spread the news about what's happening to your friends and family. Then, I want you to come with any adult you can trust to Hogsmeade. Apparate on the outskirts of town, near the cliffs and you'll find a cave that I found while I was in school. Try to be there by three. Amelia, can we go to my office quickly?" She nodded and the group quickly broke apart.

James walked with Amelia silently until they reached his office. He closed the door and sealed it. James took the seat behind his desk while Amelia remained standing. "How many of the Aurors do you think that we can trust?" James inquired.

"I don't know James. The ones that I've hired since I've been in charge for the past five years I have faith in. There's no chance they would have passed my evaluations if they believed in the vileness that Dumbledore was projecting. Anything before then though I doubt we can trust to join us. All of them were hired by Scrimgeour, and he's practically attached to Fudge."

"Alright," James started, "what about Moody?"

Amelia laughed. "We can trust Moody," she stated confidently. "I don't think he's ever seen eye to eye with Dumbledore on anything. The man has spent the majority of his life fighting evil, and I don't think he'll put all that to the side now and join it."

"That's what I thought as well. Do you know any other retired Aurors?"

"I know of two who taught me, Andrew Masters and Philip Stevens."

"See if you can contact them and any of the other Aurors you trust. I'm going to go find Moody. I'll see you at the cave," James said rising from his chair.

"Make sure you prove who you are. Moody can get very suspicious of visitors."

"I think I'll call before hand then."

xXxXxXxXx

James stepped out of the green flames and back into Sirius' dark house. He couldn't see anyone around until Lily came walking in from the hallway.

"I thought I heard someone floo," Lily said. "What's going on?"

James shook his head. "The whole country has lost its bloody mind that what's going on. Dumbledore has taken control of the whole region. He's amassed his own army and owns the majority of the Wizengamot."

Lily looked at her husband with a lost expression on her face. "You have to be joking."

James walked over and placed his hand on his wife's hips, gently rubbing circles. "That's not the worst of it, love. He passed a decree forcing all muggleborns and anyone who is sympathetic towards them out of the country. If they don't leave then they'll be killed. He's planning on taking over the muggle governments and forcing the people out. It's going to be a complete pureblood nation."

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know yet. I've set up a meeting tonight with the people who oppose Dumbledore's actions. Right now I'm waiting to make sure Sirius gets back alright. I sent him into the Department of Mysteries to destroy the prophecy with Harry's name on it."

"Why must it be destroyed, does it really matter at this point if Dumbledore sees it?"

"It does matter. Dumbledore only knows part of it and if he thinks that Harry just has the power to kill him, not that he's the only one who can, then I think he'll be satisfied enough with removing him from the country for now. That gives us an advantage, one of very few at this point. Speaking of our son, where is he?"

Lily pointed back towards the hallway. "I laid him down in a spare bedroom. The couch wasn't very comfortable for him." Just as Lily finished speaking, the flames in the fireplace flashed green once again and Sirius stumbled into the room.

"It's done James," Sirius stated, righting himself. "I had to bite a guard, but otherwise, no trouble."

Lily walked over and tightly hugged Sirius. "Thank you, we really appreciate you risking yourself like that."

Sirius smiled and patted her back. "It's nothing Lily. Anything I can do to protect my godson I'll do." After they separated, Sirius turned back to James. "What's next?"

"I set up a meeting tonight at three with the people who don't support Dumbledore. It's going to be at our cave in Hogsmeade. I need you to go and get Remus, let him know what's happening. And Sirius," James started grabbing the man's arm, "I want you to get a magical oath from him." Sirius looked like he was going to object, but James halted it. "I know he's our best friend Padfoot, but another one of our friends tried to have my family killed tonight so no unnecessary risks."

"Why haven't you required me to give you an oath?" Sirius asked looking bewildered.

"Because besides Lily, you're the only one I trust without question."

Sirius looked like he was almost choked up by that. "Thank you Prongs, that means a lot to me. Now enough of the mushiness, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get Moody. There's no way he's supporting a Dark Lord so I'm almost positive he'll join us. Then I'm heading straight to the cave, so we'll meet you there." Sirius nodded and immediately headed for the Floo. James, however, went and stood in front of his wife. "You know that I wish you could come with me tonight right?" Lily nodded. "I don't want you to think that I'm making all the decisions without you."

"James I know that you respect me and you know the way I think, so I trust whatever you decide to do. The people are going to need somebody to take charge and there's no one better than you." Lily placed her arms around James' neck and pulled him into the most meaningful kiss she could manage. They pulled apart reluctantly and Lily looked up into her husband's eyes. "I love you."

James smiled while he played with the ends of her hair. "I love you too. Now go get some rest because I'm pretty sure that's something that we won't be getting much of in the coming days."


	5. Chapter 5

Hogwarts castle stood impressively in the distance. In the darkness it was just barely possibly to discern its outline. James Potter stared at it intently, standing outside the mouth of the cave in Hogsmeade. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself as he felt a chilling autumn breeze blow. This was the place where had looked forward to coming from the time he was a mere child. It was the place that he had learned magic, and the place that he had met his best friends-the place that he had become an illegal animagus and the place he had played quidditch-the place that he had found his soul mate, the place he had met the mother of his son. From the day his son had entered the world, he had dreamt of his coming to the school and having his own memorable experiences-but that wouldn't happen now. The place that had been an institution of magic and academics was now gone. Now it would become a fortress for fear and hate.

James wearily shook his head and turned back towards the cave. A light glow from several torches lit the structure which was thus far empty save for James and Alastor Moody. James quickly walked in and conjured a chair similar to the one that an agitated Moody was currently seated in.

"I always knew that old man was bad news. It's always a worrisome sign when one bloody person has so much influence in every facet of our world," Moody grumbled.

"What's surprising is that he's been corrupting people for so many years and no one has ever turned coat on him," James added as he took a seat. "Unless he made everyone swear secrecy, I can't see how no one ever tried to gain notoriety by going to the press."

Moody let out a bark like laugh. "There could've been many reasons son. The first, probably being that the ministry owns the press, and now we're aware that the scum bag owns the ministry. But the real problem with someone like Dumbledore is that they have the ability to inspire. It's not always a bad thing, but when the person is spreading hate and cruelty it's terribly dangerous. The people he's been preaching to all believe in what he's saying. He's got his own army so we know they're all willing to die for him."

"Have you ever dueled him?" James asked curiously.

"Aye, it was many years back that it happened. It was just a simple practice duel, but it got heated. I held my own for about twenty minutes or so before he caught me off guard, which is a feat in itself. I ended up with a broken leg and some cracked ribs, Albus just sustained a few cuts. The unnerving aspect is that he beat me with all legal magic. If he's been practicing the dark arts for so long there's no telling how powerful he actually is."

They sat in silence for several minutes, James fiddling with his wand and Moody taking several swigs from his hip flask. James sat contemplating things over in his head before he looked over at the old auror. "I need your help Moody."

Moody looked over not concerned. "Aye, that's what I'm here for Potter."

James shook his head, "no, I'm not talking about the meeting tonight I'm talking about my son."

"What about him?"

James stood from his seat and began pacing, before turning back to Moody. "What I'm about to tell you doesn't get repeated, I need your promise."

Moody lifted his wand and said, "I swear on my life I won't repeat what your about to tell me without your direct permission."

"Alright," James started. "I told you that Dumbledore sent Voldemort to kill my whole family, but that's not the entire truth. There was a prophecy created some time ago saying that my son would have the power to defeat the Dark Lord, and he would be the only one. My son's the only one that can kill Dumbledore."

Moody sat there without any noticeable reaction. "And what do you need of me?"

"I need you to help me train him, help me make him the best. I'm good with magic, but you're even better. When the time comes for him to face Dumbledore, I want Harry to destroy him. Please help me train him?" James pleaded with as much dignity as possible to his former instructor.

Again, Moody sat without his face changing from its normal disgruntled expression. "Don't look so desperate Potter; you know there's no chance in hell that I'm going to say no. You're one of the few people I actually like."

James laughed, relieved. "Thank you Moody."

"You can thank me after your boy finishes the Dark Lord. Now where in the hell is everyone? I hate waiting."

James looked down at his wrist and checked his watch. "They should start getting here any minute now." Sure enough, a few seconds later there was the sound of several pops outside the cave entrance. Both James a Moody raised their wands, waiting on the newcomers to make an appearance, however, they quickly dropped them when the form of Sirius Black entered followed by a bleary-eyed Remus Lupin.

"Glad to see we haven't missed the party," Sirius stated sarcastically. Sirius noticed that James was staring intently at Remus and quickly moved to intervene. "Don't worry about it James, I got him to take an oath that he was loyal, even if he was a bit grumpy about it."

"Well wouldn't you be grumpy if your best friend came into your home telling you about the downfall of the Wizard community and then asked you to take an oath that you weren't a traitor," Remus huffed.

James walked over to his werewolf friend and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry Moony normally I would never question you, but after one attempt on my family I'm taking no more chances."

Remus still looked a little put out, but he nodded his head. "I know, I would probably do the same thing if I was in your situation. How are Lily and Harry?"

"They're alright; just a little shaken up—hopefully they're sleeping now. Come in and get a seat before the rest of the people show up."

The four sat around for a few more minutes, talking quietly, until larger groups of people started to arrive. Ameila Bones showed with her younger siblings and the two retired aurors that she had mentioned. Another group of aurors that James worked with made their way in, all wearing their work robes. All together there were around a hundred and fifty people who showed. The cave, unfortunately, wasn't quite spacious enough for all of them so Moody had to hollow out the cave a bit more.

Once the arrival of witches and wizards dropped off and everyone was situated, James shot sparks out of his wand and brought everyone to silence. "Hello everyone, thank you for coming so late at night. If you don't know me, my name is James Potter and I'm second in command of the aurors. My superior of course is Auror Bones," James said pointing her out. "Now, since you're all here, then most likely that means that you've been informed of what's going on. First things first though, everyone lift up their left sleeves." They all knew what James was looking for and exposed their Dark Mark free skin. "Thank you, everyone's clean. So are purpose right now is to figure out what we're going to do."

"How long do we have before we have to leave?" An older wizard in the back asked.

James shook his head, "We don't know, all Dumbledore said is that we had a predetermined amount of time to leave. It'll be in the paper tomorrow I'm sure. For the sake of caution I think we should all be prepared to move as soon as possible. Of course that's brings up the next point which is where do we go?"

"Shouldn't we get as far away as possible?" A middle-aged blond witch asked.

"The way I see it we have two choices," James stated. "The first option like you suggested is to run—go to another country and forget about everything we're leaving behind."

"And what's wrong with that?" Someone interjected.

"Nothings wrong with that," James added quickly. "No one is going to think less of you if you want to take your family and leave. Take them away and you'll be safe, yes. The question is for how long. Twenty years from now who's not to say that Dumbledore's ideals spread everywhere else. We'll bounce around until every major Wizard community has rejected us."

"What do you suggest then Potter?" Moody asked.

"I suggest we stay," James stated boldly.

"Are you crazy Potter? We're supposed to just stay and wait to be hunted down by Dumbledore's men? If that's the plan then you can count me out," one of James' fellow Wizengamot members commented.

James sighed exhaustedly. "Of course I'm not suggesting that we sit and wait for Dumbledore to kill us. I'm suggesting that we hide, but we hide within the United Kingdom."

"How do we hide so many people though?" Amelia Bones questioned.

"What's the reason that we use Hogwarts as a school? It's because it's a castle, it's easy to defend. Dumbledore has Hogwarts, so we take our own."

"Which castle?"

James stood up so address everyone more efficiently. "I don't think we should take just one, I think we should take one in each country. We divide our forces and create our own towns within the castle walls. We can set up a floo connection between the castles so that there can be travel back and forth."

"But James, how do we just take castles?" Sirius asked. "We can't just walk in and claim them."

"That's where you and I come in Sirius. Between the two of us, we have more money then most people can imagine. We go through Gringotts and get them to purchase the locations that we choose. The goblins won't go over to Dumbledore and they won't betray their clients so we don't ever have to worry about them giving out our locations."

"How do we stop someone from stumbling onto the castles, though, even the muggles?" One of the retired aurors Amelia brought asked.

James was going to answer, but Moody beat him to it. "The castles would be too large to use a fidelius charm so that option is eliminated. Best bet would be to use as many repulsion charms on the area as possible—muggle repelling, confundus, make the places unplottable—that sort of thing. They would be effective, just would have to be replaced on a consistent basis."

"This is all well and good, but what are we supposed to do once we've moved into these castles? Are we supposed to just sit around and live like nothing's going on?" Another wizard asked.

"No we're not going to just _sit around_," James replied. "We'll have to set up a working government within our castle network and we'll have to set up an education system to teach our children. Every man and women who is willing and able is going to have to train to fight if we ever want a chance to take back our lives. Dumbledore may have the advantage of size with his army, but we'll counter it with superior skill and superior tactics. Make no mistake; we _will_ beat Dumbledore, no matter how long it takes!"

"James is right; we can't let the bastards win!" Sirius added in support.

Excited chatter broke out among the crowd and James let it continue for a few moments before he motioned for silence. "Alright let's see a show of hands of how many are on board. And remember that no one is going to criticize or chastise you for not going along. Who's in?" James was extremely heartened when he saw every single hand in the cave raise, even if a few were hesitant at first.

"Excellent," James used his wand to conjure a piece of parchment and quill. "Now everyone should right their names down on this, and then with any luck I'll have the details worked out by tomorrow morning and contact you. If you can think of anyone else who would be willing to join us then bring them along as well. When this news breaks tomorrow there are going to be a lot of confused and frightened people, and we need to let them know that there's another option besides joining Dumbledore and fleeing."

"James what about the muggleborns in Hogwarts, whose parents don't get the _Daily Prophet_? They won't have any way of knowing what's going on or a way to get their children," Remus exlplained.

"That's a good point Remus," James acknowledged. "If any one in here has children in Hogwarts then you should wait to get them until after the paper comes tomorrow. We don't want to draw any unnecessary attention to what we're doing, so wait until the rest of the country gets the news. As for the muggleborns, Sirius, Remus, and I will sneak into the castle and speak with McGonagall to work something out. I know Minerva and she won't stand for any of this. I didn't invite any of the teachers to this meeting because I knew they couldn't leave the school. Now are there any more questions because there is a lot of work to do?" He stopped and peered around, but everyone remained silent. "Alright everyone—let's get work."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter or the actaul locations mentioned in the story

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January 3, 1998

Harry Potter groaned as he saw several slivers of sunlight peaking through the curtain in his bedroom. It wouldn't have been so bad if the light wasn't aimed directly at his face. He lifted his head off of his pillow just a fraction, just enough to pull it out from beneath him and place it over his face. It would have been nice to go back to sleep, but as hard as his mind tried to convince his body, it was of no use. Throwing his pillow to the floor, he sat up and leaned back against the headboard of his double bed.

The room he was in wasn't extremely large, but it was sufficient enough to hold a bed, desk, and armoire. Now any normal teenager's room would be adorned with posters and other adolescent things, but Harry Potter wasn't any normal seventeen year old. Instead his room held, aside from a few family photographs, a wand, a sword, and a couple sets of body armor. These items certainly weren't there for decorative purposes.

No, Harry Potter wasn't normal or average; he was a wizard. What few knew about him though, was that he was fated to destroy the most powerful, evil wizard currently in existence—The Dark Lord Albus Dumbledore. Almost seventeen years ago he had come forward and taken control of the magical parts of the United Kingdom. Anyone who had been against his pureblood supremacy movement had been outlawed and exiled—including Harry's family. In the time that had passed, Dumbledore had done what he promised and systematically removed the majority of the muggle population of the United Kingdom. He had taken command over the governments by invading the minds of its leaders and manipulating the people. First, funding and troop levels were cut to the military, then government intervention caused huge financial and employment losses in the marketplace. The government pulled out of diplomatic relations with other nations and shut its borders to outsiders. While the countries fell into a depression and the people were extremely disheartened, Dumbledore struck a final, fatal blow. He ordered his soldiers to create disasters that were staged to look like terrorist attacks and natural disasters. The high loss of life encouraged many people to flee their home countries. Once that began, the government was finally brought down to a complete collapse, and just to destroy morale, Dumbledore eliminated the Royal Family who had stubbornly refused to leave. All other influential countries deemed the United Kingdom as a complete loss and accepted the flow of people who had chose to flee. Now there was only around ten percent of the muggle population left, most concentrated in England. Dumbledore knew about these remaining muggles and he was just waiting for the appropriate moment to destroy them.

However, there was a group of people that Dumbledore had no clue about. The U.M.R., or the United Magical Resistance, was made up of the magical users and their families who Dumbledore and the Wizengamot had banished away. The original group that had met on November 1, 1981 were totaled about one thousand including all the family members and an additional fifteen hundred had been convinced to join after the news of Dumbledore's ascension to power had come to light. The idea of Harry's father, James, of entrenching their group into a system of castles had been a fortunate success. In the years that had passed they had managed to build their own working society within the castles. James Potter and Sirius Black had bought three castles through the goblins before they made the act of leaving. They secured the muggle Pembroke Castle in Wales, Warwick Castle in England, and Markree Castle in Ireland. Then, a few years later after most of Scotland had been deserted, they snuck in and took control of Edinburgh Castle, also taking a fortified manor house, Stokesay Castle, in England. To protect the castles, numerous wards had been used, but it helped even more that Dumbledore and the pureblood community was completely ignorant of muggle historical structures.

Each castle was managed by one wizard or witch, and when a collective decision was needed they met in a council that was open to every person to witness and offer their opinons. Harry's father was the leader of Warwick, Amelia Bones the leader of Pembroke, a former Wizengamot member, Richard McNally, the leader of Markree, and Alastor Moody the leader of Edinburgh. Stokesay Castle was only use for training and the occasional game of quidditch due to its openness so there wasn't a need for it to be managed. The structures had all been modified and reinforced to meet the inhabitants' needs. A restricted floo access had been created to allow travel in between all the castles and another location in mainland Europe that was used to bring in supplies. The main things that they brought in were food and clothing, but there were also other magical materials that were imported. Many people in the castles who had owned businesses continued to practice their craft including Mr. Olivander, who continued to create wands for the new generations of witches and wizards. Remus Lupin was their man in Europe. He had volunteered for the job because he was afraid that with his werewolf status he would make some people uncomfortable in the castles and he wanted to avoid that. The floo passage was the last means of unmonitored travel out of the United Kingdom.

Harry pushed his blankets aside, but quickly regretted it when the cool air hit his bare skin. Walking over to his armoire in just a pair of boxers, he rifled through a pile of clothing until he found a pair of muggle athletic pants and a hooded sweatshirt. The material wasn't thick, but it was enough to protect him from the frigid winter air while he went for his customary morning run. He pulled on a pair of socks and some worn running shoes before grabbing his wand and heading out of his bedroom. Glancing to the right he saw that the other doors of the three bedroom flat were still shut so he could only guess that he was the first up. He pulled out his wand and lit the oil lamp that was one of two that lit the hallway.

Warwick castle was the place where the majority of the resistance resided. A two story apartment building had been built quickly when the original members of the resistance had moved into the castle. While on the outside the building looked like it was no where near large enough to hold the amount of people it did, the inside had been magically expanded to hold hundreds of rooms. There were single bedroom, two bedroom, and three bedroom apartments. Each had a kitchen, living room, and one or two bathrooms. There was an old mill and river on the side of the castle that was capable of providing electricity, but unfortunately with the amount of magic being performed, it was useless. Thus the reason Harry was lighting an oil lamp.

He made his way into the comfortably furnished living room and was surprised to see the reason for his family needing three bedrooms sitting on the couch. Harry's seven year old sister, Vera Potter, was lounging on the couch with a book that a normal seven year old probably wasn't capable of reading. She was wearing a light blue dressing gown and her reddish brown hair was tussled from sleeping. She looked up with her father's hazel eyes when she noticed her brother was standing at the entrance to the hallway.

"Morning Harry," she stated brightly, putting her book to the side.

"Good morning V," Harry responded using his nickname for her. "You're up awfully early aren't you?"

She shrugged cutely. "I couldn't go back to sleep. I'm just waiting for mum to wake up and make breakfast."

"You might be waiting for a while then V. Dad was out late last night for a meeting and I'm sure mum waited up for him. They'll probably sleep in so why don't I make something for you instead?"

"Promise it'll taste good?" Vera asked playfully.

"I promise," Harry laughed. He walked over and let her climb on his back. She secured her petite arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his midsection. He pretended to struggle with her added weight making her laugh before making it to the kitchen and sitting her at the kitchen table. After getting out the necessities, he flicked his wand a few times and a plate of eggs and toast along with a pitcher of juice made it to the table. Harry sat at the table and watched his sister take a tentative bite of eggs. She chewed for a second and sat with a contemplative look on her face. Then, she turned and looked at her brother, giving him a quick nod of approval. Harry chuckled at her antics and poured each of them a glass of juice. He quickly gulped his down then stood up from his seat ready to go.

"Tell Mum and Dad when they get up that I went running ok V?"

"Can I go with you Harry?"

Harry shook his head while ignoring her pouting look that he usually gave in to. "Not yet V, you're sill too young. Maybe in a couple of years, but it's just too dangerous because sometimes I leave the wards."

"Fine," she said turning moodily back to her food.

Harry walked over and put a finger under her chin, turning her face to look at him. "Hey, I don't want you to be mad at me. Tell you what, sometime this week I'll take you over to Stokesay and we can work on your broom flying. How does that sound?"

"Promise?" she asked looking excited.

"I promise," Harry answered bending down and kissing the top of her head. "I'll be back later. Harry turned and Apparated out of the flat to avoid the magically expanded hallways that made finding the exit a pain. He reappeared directly outside the entrance and was met with a gusting winter breeze. To alleviate some of the cold, he cast a mild warming charm on himself before placing his wand back into his pocket.

Everyone seemed to be taking advantage of the weekend to get some extra rest because the only other people he could see were the guards who were posted on the numerous castle towers. The weekends were usually very relaxed around the castle. Children were given a break from their schooling and there was no combat training for the resistance soldiers. As far as Harry was concerned though, the weekends were no reason to slack off. He had been training to fight for as long as he could remember, but his father hadn't allowed him on any missions so far. His father would tell him he wasn't ready yet, but that wasn't really the case. He didn't like to sound arrogant, but Harry knew that he was extremely talented and extremely powerful. Even Alastor Moody, his personal instructor, was barely a match for him anymore. But his father continued to hold him back, even with Moody's insistence that he needed real fighting experience. Harry loved his father, but the man could be highly frustrating sometimes.

Harry started walking until he reached the gatehouse. This was the only way to leave the castle unless you wanted to jump over the walls. It was possible to Apparate within the confines of the castle, but not to outside of it. He waved to guard responsible for raising the magically reinforce gate. He recognized the man's face, but he couldn't come up with a name to match. Everyone around each of the castles knew who Harry was being the son of one of the Resistance's leaders, but Harry couldn't say the same for himself about others. He thought it was pretty pathetic that he had spent the vast of majority of his life here, but didn't know that many people very well. He hadn't really spent much of his life socializing though. While they had a school system, Harry's parents had decided to educate him and his sister themselves. It wasn't that they thought they could do better then the teachers, which included former Hogwarts professors Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick, but they wanted to be able to pick and choose what their children learned. The school focused on the same things that had been taught at Hogwarts, but Harry's parents had chosen to leave out subjects like astronomy, divination, and history. Instead, they focused more on the subjects of transfiguration, charms, and defense. Harry remembered being younger and hearing other kids and their parents questioning why he was so special that he didn't attend school with the rest of the children. He always felt like firing back at them that he was training to defeat Albus Dumbledore which would have promptly shut them up, but he was forbidden from saying anything about the prophecy.

His parents had told him about the prophecy early on, as soon as he was able to comprehend what it meant. Of course, being a child and learning that you had to battle a Dark Lord was a lot to take in. His parents told him that they were going to train him along with Moody, but that he shouldn't feel like everything was resting on his shoulders. Harry couldn't help but laugh at that. He woke up pretty much every single morning feeling like entire world was counting on him and it didn't help that every time he looked at his reflection, he could see that bloody scar on his forehead. His parents told him that if anybody else found out about the prophecy that he would be pressured to go and face Dumbledore before he was ready or someone could try to kill him and then crawl back to Dumbledore looking for a reward—not that he really believed anyone around the castle was actually a match for him.

While the United Magical Resistance had its own small army which were well trained in both magic and weaponry, Harry spent every bit of his spare time trying to improve himself. And, once again, this wasn't exactly the greatest thing for his social life. It was sad that his best friends were his little sister and his godfather Sirius and that he had never really had a girlfriend. Sure he had kissed a few girls before, but if you didn't move fast enough, then choice became extremely limited. There wasn't much to do for recreation around the castle, so witches and wizards getting together quickly wasn't surprising. It had also worked to increase the castle's population Harry thought, referring to all of the pregnant women around the castle.

He exited the castle through the gatehouse and heard the gate close behind him. Looking to his left he could he could see the burnt remains of the town that had stood beyond the castle. Dumbledore had ordered that once a muggle town looked deserted, it was to be burned to the ground to remove any stragglers. Harry could remember vividly the day that this particular town had been burned. It had been five years earlier and the one and only time that they had been fearful of being discovered by Dumbledore. That charred smell still lingered in the air and he remembered watching as the soldiers laughed as they set fire to the empty shells that had been families' homes. He didn't need any prophecy to encourage him to want to kill Dumbledore—just that memory—that was enough to fuel him.

Harry ran around to the side of the castle where the woods and river were located. There was a thin layer of ice covering the water which again reminded him of how cold it was. He began running along side the river, his breathing becoming extremely labored the longer he went. This was Harry's favorite time of the year to train because the body was forced to push its limits and work so much harder in the cold. He ran for another half hour until he was getting rather far away from the castle. He stopped, intending to start heading back when he saw something in the air flying towards him. Harry began to pull his wand, but when he noticed it was his father's owl he put it away. The grey barn owl swooped down gracefully, landing on Harry's shoulder. He saw the tiny piece of parchment attached to his leg and removed it quickly. Pulling it open he read:

_Son,_

_Moody just contacted me with some intelligence and it's extremely important information. I know that you enjoy your morning running, but get back to the castle as quick as possible. You may just get the chance to prove yourself that you were waiting for._

_Dad_

Harry encouraged the owl to take off and he watched as it headed back towards the tree line. He looked back again at the short note that was in his hands. This was it. He was finally going to do something that was useful. Pulling his wand out, he incinerated the parchment and began running as fast as his legs would take him, excitement written all over his features.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry continued running until he was in sight of the castle. He knew it wouldn't do any good to alarm the guards and make them think something was wrong, so, calming his nerves and excitement, he walked in long strides up to the gatehouse. One of the guards noticed him and raised the gate, allowing him access. Once he was safely inside, he picked up his pace gradually and made his way towards the rooms that were located along the left side of the castle walls. The rooms had originally consisted of a great hall, library, and bedrooms, but the bedrooms had been remodeled into meeting and training areas. Harry's father also kept an office there which was where he was heading.

He passed a few people he knew along the way, offering them a courteous wave as he made his way by. There wasn't anybody present when he stepped into the main hallway of the castle, but when he entered his father's office, he was pleasantly surprised to find his godfather sitting in one of the chairs.

"It's about time you showed your ugly face around here," Harry called, gaining the man's attention.

Sirius stood up from his chair and turned around quickly, his long black hair swinging freely. He had a winter cloak on, but Harry could see the outline of his armor underneath. "The last female I woke up next to seemed to think I was quite dashing, and seeing as her judgment on this topic matters much more then yours, I'll let the ugly comment go…for now," he responded, grinning like a school boy.

"Please Sirius, the last time you woke up next to a member of the opposite sex was twenty years ago," Harry laughed ignoring Sirius' threat.

"Oh ho," Sirius said raising his eyebrows. "I'll have you know it was more like twenty _days_ ago."

"Is she the reason that you've been away for the past month?" Harry asked teasingly, but in reality actually wanting to know the answer.

Sirius' carefree demeanor dropped off suddenly and he took his seat again, motioning for Harry to do the same. "So your father didn't mention what I was up to at all?"

Harry shook his head. "You know how Dad is—he trains me like mad, but won't let me in on anything the Resistance is up to. Honestly, he told me that you were helping Moody with something like I couldn't figure out that you were on some type of mission."

Sirius reached over and patted his godson on the knee. "Don't be so hard on your Dad, he just wants you to be prepared. As to the mission part you got that correct. I've been running around the past few weeks as my animagus doing some reconnaissance work. I didn't hear anything that would be considered important up until yesterday which is the reason I'm here and Moody's talking with your father."

Harry leaned forwaed and spoke softly as if he was conspiring. "Can you tell me what's going on? I was out running and Dad sent me an owl to come back because of your information. He actually made it sound like I was getting a chance to do something."

"That's because you are getting a chance to do something son," James Potter interrupted as he walked into the office. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a thick, black, winter coat. Most witches and wizards in the castle had taken to wearing muggle clothing, but some still insisted on robes. He walked over and took the empty seat behind his perpetually cluttered desk. "Sorry I'm a little late, but Moody was in a hurry and he had something else to discuss with me."

"No problem at all Prongs—it gave me some time to catch up with my godson," Sirius said offering a quick smile to Harry. "Now let's not leave the poor lad in suspense any longer because we've got to move quickly." This statement drew Harry's attention because the way the men were talking suggested that this situation was of great importance.

"Alright Harry, the problem that we're facing now is the prospect of Dumbledore killing the rest of the muggle population remaining in the United Kingdom. We don't know when it's actually going to happen, but we don't think it's going to be too much longer," James finished.

"What are we going to do about it? We're not just going to let them be slaughtered are we?" Harry asked heatedly.

James shook his head and sighed. "We are working on a way to move them when the time comes, but there's a more immediate problem that's arisen."

"What could be more of a problem?" Harry inquired.

"It's not necessarily more of a problem, but like your father said, it's a more _immediate_ problem," Sirius explained. "While I was out yesterday I was in Hogsmeade and overheard a couple of Dumbledore's top advisors talking. They were just walking out of the pub and were speaking louder than they probably thought they were. Anyway, the point is that they said that Dumbledore is planning to go after any left over muggleborns first—something about taking out potential threats."

"Are there really that many muggleborns left?" Harry questioned.

"We don't know, but there could be," James answered. "Dumbledore stopped accepting muggleborns as soon as he took power, so that means there are seventeen years worth of them out there who may have no idea that they posses magical ability. I'm sure a majority of them left with the rest of the muggles, but chances are there is still some remaining."

"If we can find them, we can bring them back here and offer to educate and train them, or give them the option to leave the region altogether," Sirius added.

"Yeah this sounds like a great plan, but how are we going to find them? The only record of muggleborns is the Book of Students at Hogwarts. You can't seriously be suggesting that we break into Hogwarts?" Harry looked at his father and godfather incredulously, but when their faces remained the same he realized they were dead serious. "Oh hell, you're not joking."

"No we're not joking. It sounded like this muggleborn attack was going to happen soon which means we must act quickly. Now we know that Dumbledore isn't going to be at the castle this week, so that's one thing to our advantage, but there is still extreme danger," James said looking warningly at his son. "The whole castle isn't a school any longer; it's a Dark Arts Academy. Any person in there wouldn't hesitate to throw a killing curse at you. That's why the whole purpose of this mission is to get in and out undetected—force is only to be used as a last resort to avoid capture."

"And you're letting me go on this mission?" Harry asked skeptically. "This is my first assignment and your letting me sneak into Dumbledore's stronghold?"

James leaned forward and leaned his elbows on his desk, clasping his hand together. "I know you've been wanting to do something for a while now and have been frustrated with me," James started, "so this is my way of showing that I trust you and have faith that you'll succeed. Just promise me you'll be smart and safe or your mother and sister will kill me."

Harry listened to his father's explanation and gained a whole new respect for him. He instantly felt ashamed for being so frustrated with him. After all, he couldn't even imagine being a father and knowing your son was being thrust into danger. He realized he had been silent for several moments and focused back on the problem at hand. "Who else is going and how are we going to get in?"

"Just you and me kid," Sirius responded. "And to how we're getting in, well, I know you've seen the Marauder's Map before. It gives us a layout of the castle and once we get within the grounds the map will show the people inside."

"There's a problem with that though," Harry asserted. "Pettigrew knows all about the hidden ways into the castle, and there's no doubt that Dumbledore has sealed them."

James nodded, "You're right about that son, Pettigrew and Dumbledore know every route on that map, but fortunately for us, Sirius and I deliberately left a passage off in case the map was to fall into the wrong hands. The other way into the castle is through a tree stump on the left side of the Hogwarts gates. All you have to do is tap the top of the stump with your wand and a hole will open up allowing you to slip inside. The passage opens up into what used to be a spare classroom, but you'll have no idea what it is now until you're on school grounds and can activate all of the map's features."

"The real trouble lies in actually getting into Dumbledore's office to retrieve the book," Sirius continued. "If we can't find a way to get past the gargoyles and up the stairs, then we have to go to the back up plan. That is we find the nearest class room and go out the windows. We can use sticking charms to climb over to Dumbledore's windows and break through." Sirius turned so that he was face to face with Harry. "Now listen closely because if things go bad there aren't many options for us. If we can't make it back to the passage then the only other ways out are by foot or by portkey. Trying to run out would probably be suicide so we're each going to carry a portkey. The only issue with that is that you cannot be inside the castle for it to work, you must be on the grounds." Seeing Harry about to say something, Sirius raised his hand to silence him. "I know what you were going to say, and no, brooms won't work. The wards around the grounds won't allow someone to fly in or out. It would be like flying into a wall—I know you're good on a broom, but you aren't good enough to get through that."

They all sat in silence for several minutes, simply digesting the information. Harry knew he should be more nervous or concerned, but the adrenaline running through him wouldn't allow it. He knew the other two men in the room were watching him carefully, waiting for him to change his mind after Sirius' bleak explanation of the situation, but Harry's resolve remained steadfast.

"So when do we leave?" Harry asked breaking the silence. The other two men looked each other and realized that Harry was committed to going.

"We're going immediately because it's still early and there should be a good amount of people still sleeping or at breakfast. Wear some light body armor and a concealment cloak over it. Only bring your wand, because the sword will only slow you down," Sirius ordered.

"And when you go back to change son, if your mother asks where you're going, just tell her you're going on a scouting trip with Sirius. If she knew where I was actually sending you I would be sleeping alone for a _very _long time," James said shuddering at the thought.


	8. Chapter 8

Harry shivered and pulled his cloak tighter around his body. Along with his godfather, he was standing just outside the Hogwarts gates, hidden behind a small gathering of trees. They had Apparated to the outskirts of Hogsmeade directly after Harry had lied to his mother and sister about where he was going. When the truth came out he knew he was in for a nice, long lecture, but he had decided to worry about that later. When they had arrived, it took all of the restraint Harry could muster not to throttle Sirius. He had, unbelievably, some how neglected to mention the fact that this part of Scotland was currently covered in almost two feet of snow. When Harry had confronted him, all Sirius had said was that he wanted to see how he could deal with adverse conditions. Harry strongly doubted the explanation, but seeing as it wasn't the best of times to start an argument, he let it go. Unfortunately, now they were left with the task of locating the tree stump that they needed to get inside the castle.

Sirius was down on his hands and knees feeling around in the area where he thought the stump was while Harry acted as a lookout. Harry thought they would find it faster if aided in the search because he doubted anyone could notice them in the cloaks they were wearing. The cloaks were infused with a disillusionment charm which made them blend into their surroundings—the cloaks had been nicknamed chameleon cloaks. Right now anyone looking their way would probably just see white, and if Harry moved they would mistake it for snow drifting around. Finally after another grueling five minutes, Harry heard a muffled shout of success from behind him.

"Found it," Sirius muttered. "Now I just need to clear it off so the hole doesn't fill in with snow when we open it." Harry watched as he pulled out his wand and began melting the snow. Harry couldn't understand that just because wizards and witches were capable of magic that they always had to use it when there were other options. Like right now, instead of just pushing the snow away with his hands, Sirius had to _melt _the snow. Harry looked up frustrated when he realized that by melting the snow, steam was rising over their position which had the possibility of drawing unwanted attention. He used his own wand to siphon the steam away from its intended path. Sirius looked over when he realized what was happening and offered Harry a sheepish grin.

"Sorry bout that Harry," Sirius apologized. "I should've realized that would happen." Harry just shook his head and waited for him to finish. Once Sirius had made a sufficient clearing, he tapped the top of the short stump with his wand. They watched as it looked if someone was taking a saw and slicing the top of the stump off revealing a hollow opening. "Alright Harry, we're going to travel down the tunnel until we hit the end. From there, we'll activate the map to check and see if the classroom is occupied. If it is, then we silently as possible neutralize them." Sirius moved to the hole, and began squeezing his body down the narrow opening. Harry took one last look around to make sure no one was watching and followed Sirius' lead. He stuck his feet inside first and then forced his body, which was thicker than normal from wearing body armor, down into the hole. He slid down on his back until his feet came into contact with level ground. Looking up he saw Sirius standing with his lit wand, surveying the area.

Getting his first good look at the passage, he saw that it was narrow, but rather well constructed. There were thick wooden beams that ran vertically along the sides and diagonally above them that prevented the tunnel from collapsing. There was the odd root sticking out every few feet, but otherwise there was no trouble getting through. It would be more of a challenge climbing back up out of the passage when the time came. As they walked on, Harry gradually felt the passage begin to rise up hill, and then the ceiling turned from soil to stone—no question they had reached the castle. They walked a bit further until the tunnel narrowed even more and above them laid the entrance to the classroom through the floor. Sirius stopped and leaned back against the wall, pulling the Marauder's map out of his cloak. He whispered the password and the map appeared, this time with little moving spots representing the castle's inhabitants. Harry could tell that Sirius recognized some of the people inside because he would occasionally scowl when he looked at a particular dot. Finally locating the room they were currently under, they were relieved to see it was completely empty.

Sirius reached up with his free hand and pushed the stone tablet above them. It stubbornly refused to budge at first, but eventually Sirius was able to move it out of their way. Harry watched Sirius crawl up into the room and then climbed up himself. Sirius was already moving towards the solitary door to the room and checking the map while Harry took a few seconds to observe the place they were in. It obviously hadn't been used in a long time; there was a thick layer of dust covering everything and the desks and chairs were stacked off towards one wall. Harry was forced to duck his head a few times to avoid dangling cobwebs as he took his place next to Sirius at the door.

"Most of the people are in the Great Hall," Sirius whispered. "I know a few short cuts that will limit the amount of time we spend exposed in the corridors. Try not to make any noise though—our cloaks give us good cover, but the portraits may report our presence if they see us."

"Actually, I have something that can hide us from the portraits." Sirius looked at Harry anticipating an explanation. "There's a charm my mum taught me that makes a person undetectable to any non-living object that's capable of interaction with the living—namely the portraits or ghosts which would be beneficial to our situation right now. I don't know exactly how long it last so I might have to cast it again later."

Sirius gave a soft laugh. "Remind me to give Lily a huge hug when we get back for passing on her intelligence to you. James is smart, but he sure as hell doesn't know that one." Sirius looked down at the map once again before turning his gaze back to Harry. "Alright, the coast is clear for now, so do the charm and then we'll head for Dumbledore's office."

Harry moved his wand in a few complicated flicks and both he and Sirius were engulfed in a bright blue light before it faded swiftly. Sirius nodded and turned the handle to the classroom door, pulling it back towards him. The two men left the room and made sure they quietly shut the door behind them. The halls weren't well lit, only a few rays of light permeated through the first floor windows. Harry and Sirius did their best to stick to the walls, traveling in the shadows.

As they moved, Harry couldn't help but admire his surroundings. He had seen pictures in books, but it was much more thrilling to see up close. He could look around and imagine his parents and their friends roaming the halls after coming from one of their classes. He could imagine sitting in the Great Hall for one of the legendary Holiday Feasts. His resentment towards Dumbledore and his followers only grew when he thought of the children who had missed a chance to experience such a large part of their magical heritage. He couldn't even fathom being one of the muggleborns still out there who was his age, no idea of the amazing gift that they possessed. It steeled his determination to get into Dumbledore's office and retrieve that book. It meant life or death for some of those who still remained in the United Kingdom.

They continued quickly down the various halls and up staircases. Sirius showed his immense knowledge of the castle when he would pull aside a tapestry and reveal another path. Harry felt they were extremely lucky as they hadn't even come into close contact with ay of the castle's residents. They did past by a few ghosts, but with Harry's charm they simply floated harmlessly past. He thought they were actually going to make it with no problem until Sirius raised his open hand, signaling for him to stop. While his godfather looked down at the Marauder's Map, Harry could distinctly hear footsteps approaching their position. Harry raised his wand, ready to defend himself, but Sirius turned around and gestured for him to lower it.

"There are five of them," Sirius whispered. "We'll cause too much commotion if we confront them. Quickly, get behind that statue and make sure your cloak is completely covering you—and don't move." Harry followed Sirius' instruction without question, taking the space behind a statue while Sirius took one on the opposite side of the hall.

Sound must have really echoed in the castle because it took several drawn out seconds for the figures to appear. The five were all dressed in full army robes, but all seemed to be around the same age as Harry. The one in front had extremely blond, almost white, hair that was slicked back. He walked in front of the others carrying himself as if he was God's gift to the world. Harry listened closely as the boy talked to the others.

"Did you hear the way that muggle screamed yesterday during training. Too bad he died so quickly, I would've liked to try a few more spells on him," the boy finished, showing no sign of remorse that he had killed someone.

"Don't worry Malfoy, as soon as the Dark Lord gives the word, we'll have plenty of muggle filth to have fun with," another boy in the group consoled. They had passed by and Harry couldn't decipher anymore of the conversation. Once he knew they were out of sight, he left his hiding spot behind the statue and waited for Sirius.

"Is that Lucius Malfoy's devil spawn?" Harry asked when Sirius joined him again.

"Has to be, it's the spitting image of the bastard," Sirius replied. He looked at Harry questioningly. "How do you know about Malfoy?"

Harry laughed quietly. "Are you kidding Sirius? Between Dad and Moody I've heard the Malfoy the duck story a hundred times."

Sirius chuckled. "Ah yes, how I wish I would have been there that day." Sirius kept smiling for a moment before he sobered. "Alright enough pleasant reminiscing, we're almost to the office. It's just around the next corner." Sirius looked down at the map and indicated to Harry that the path was clear. They walked down into the next corridor, stopping in front of a spot in the hall where two stone gargoyles stood.

"Let me check and see what's guarding the office," Sirius told Harry. Harry looked on as he waved his wand around and muttered what he recognized to be revealing spells. The situation must not have been good because Sirius turned back with a grim look. "Looks like we're going with the back up plan because Dumbledore's got some nasty stuff around his office door that we shouldn't mess with."

"How do we know he hasn't warded his windows the same way," Harry questioned.

"We don't, but I would doubt that Dumbledore is concerned enough to fortify his windows—only Moody would do that. Plus, he wouldn't be able to get any post through them—his wards would incinerate the owls if they were like the ones on the door. Either way we're going to find out. Hurry up, there's another classroom around the corner and it's empty for now."

They walked down the hall a few more paces until they reached the closed door to the classroom. Harry reached for the knob, turning it and slipping inside, Sirius following.

"Sirius, I'll put up a silencing charm then break the glass on that window," Harry stated pointing out the intended target. "At the same time I break it, you'll need to suck the glass back towards the room so no one sees it falling. When we come back in, we can repair it to cover our tracks."

Sirius stared at Harry looking impressed. "I like it Harry. See, all that training is paying off. Now let's put the plan into action. Break it whenever you're ready."

Harry raised his wand and stood to the side of the rectangular window as to avoid the glass when it shattered. One quick explosion curse later and the glass was out of the wall, lying in pieces in a neat pile in front of Sirius. Harry climbed up into the empty window and looked down first checking to make sure there wasn't anyone looking up at them. Then, he turned his vision left, toward the castle wall, scouting where Dumbledore's windows were. Once he had the window in sight, he cast a sticking charm on the tip of each of his boots and one more on his wand free hand. Reaching out with that free hand, he stuck it onto the exterior wall and pulled his body out, sticking his feet. He began moving over to the other window, allowing room for Sirius to follow him out. He was thankful that it wasn't snowing because it was hard enough that the cold was even more intense up high. Once he made it to the window he figured led to Dumbledore's office, he raised his wand and silence the area before breaking the glass. As soon as he had released the spell, he braced himself waiting for the repercussions. Luckily Sirius had been correct and there was nothing guarding over the windows. He refused to turn and look back at the smug smile that was surely on Sirius' face.

Harry removed the sticking charms on his limbs and pulled himself into the office. The window that he had entered was one right next to Dumbledore's lavish desk. He took time to look around and was surprised at what he found. The whole entire office was completely empty besides the furniture. There were no books, no swirling, buzzing objects.

"What in the name of Merlin?" Apparently Sirius had made his way into the office and noticed the emptiness as well. "He can't possibly clean this place out every time he leaves for a week."

"This is fucking great," Harry commented. "All that work getting in here and there isn't a book. We should've figured Dumbledore would be a step ahead of us."

Sirius started feeling around on different surfaces. "Maybe the stuff is still here and it's just hidden or invisible."

"The book might be in the Ministry, in which case every one of those muggleborns is dead because there's no way we sneak into there and leave with our lives," Harry said frustrated. He was just about to suggest that they get themselves out of the castle when he heard a rustling behind him. Harry turned around quickly with his wand raised, but then was forced backwards in a flash of flame. He opened his eyes and was amazed at what was in front of him.


	9. Chapter 9

Harry waved his hand in front of his face trying to clear away the smoke that remained. When it was gone, he was left staring into the eyes of something he had only heard stories of as a child. Its eyes bore into Harry's and he felt as if the creature were looking into his soul. The red and gold phoenix effortlessly flapped its wings, floating just a small distance away.

"Fawkes?" Harry heard Sirius' voice from behind. "That's Dumbledore's phoenix—we need to get out of here before he gets the old man!"

"No," Harry said calmly, still not looking away from the magnificent bird. "I don't think he's Dumbledore's anymore."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked confusedly.

Harry took a step closer and held his arm out. Nothing happened for a moment, but then Fawkes came down and perched itself on the extended limb. "I mean that phoenixes are creatures that are attracted to the good and the light. They can't stand evil so I doubt that Fawkes can even stand to be in Dumbledore's presence anymore. The real question is why you are still here now?" Harry said directing the last part towards the bird.

Harry watched Fawkes swivel its head in several different directions before it once again took flight. He was afraid for a second that the phoenix was going to leave, but then it landed on an empty wooden bookcase across the room. It then turned around to where a portrait of as sleeping former headmaster hung. Fawkes simply pecked the edge of the portrait with its beak and then turned back around and resumed its staring at Harry.

Realizing that Fawkes expected him to follow, he walked over and stood in front of the bookcase. He reached up past the phoenix and grasped the frame of the portrait where Fawkes had touched. Surprisingly, when he pulled the right of the frame it moved away from the wall while the left side remained connected as if on an invisible hinge—but that wasn't the best part. There, behind the portrait, was a hollow nook and in it laid a single book. Harry released his hold on the portrait and immediately took hold of the book. He almost shouted in jubilation when he looked down and read _Hogwarts Book of Students_ on the cover. The book was hundreds of years old, yet the maroon cover was barely worn. He was sorely tempted to look inside, but Sirius interrupted his private moment.

"Is that it?" he inquired.

Harry nodded before facing him. "Yeah, this is it. Now we can get out of here." He prepared to turn around to thank Fawkes for his assistance, but when he did there was another burst of flame and the phoenix was gone. Harry was disappointed, but his eagerness to get out of the castle overrode it. He quickly put the portrait back into its original spot, then walked back over to the window they entered through.

"You have no idea how tempting it is to prank the old man," Sirius commented as he exited the window. "We spent so much time in this office getting detentions for it, it only seems fitting."

Harry just shook his head. "Yes, but then when he discovered the book was missing, he probably wouldn't have too much trouble figuring out who took it," Harry countered.

"True," Sirius responded. "I guess sneaking into his office and stealing his possessions is prank enough." They climbed there way back into the empty classroom after Harry repaired the window in Dumbledore's office. They gathered at the door and Sirius pulled out the map, checking the hallways. "We're going to have to be even more careful this time. There are a lot more people moving now. Keep your wand tight in your grip."

Sirius opened the door and slipped back into the hallway. Harry remembered to repair the other window then followed him out. They were about a quarter way back to the passage out of the castle, when Harry thought he felt something pass behind him. He turned around, but nothing was there. Thinking nothing of it, he continued walking several more minutes until Sirius halted him and looked down at the map. Harry jumped backwards when Sirius spun around alarmingly fast.

"We have to go now! I think we've been found out—there coming our way in several different directions fast. Run! Now!" They began sprinting through the halls, this time not bothering with Sirius' shortcuts. As Harry ran down the hall, he looked to the side and see the portraits following him with their eyes. He instantly knew what was wrong. Harry could here shouting coming from nearby and he was seriously starting to question whether or not they were going to make it out of the castle. Harry looked down at the book in his arms, realizing that people were counting on it, he suddenly stopped moving.

"Harry what are you doing?" Sirius asked urgently when he heard Harry's footsteps stop.

"Here, take this," Harry ordered throwing the book at Sirius. Sirius barely caught the book then looked at his godson as if he were crazy. "Take the book and get to the passage.—I'll hold them off."

Sirius ran over and grabbed Harry by the arm. "Are you out of your fucking mind? There is no way I'm leaving you alone here—let's go!"

Harry moved forcefully and shrugged off Sirius' hand. "There going to catch us if one of us doesn't do something. You know your way around better than I do—you can get out of here faster. Plus, it's my fault that their chasing us."

"How is it your fault?"

"I forgot to put the charm back on us after we finished in the office—remember I told you I didn't know how long it would last. Something passed behind me before and I didn't say anything, but I'm dead sure now that it was a ghost and it when and gave us up. Now go, I promise I'll find a way out. I still have my portkey." Sirius looked ready to keep arguing, but Harry raised his wand a pointed it straight at his godfather's chest. "Take the book back to Warwick Sirius or I swear I'll transfigure into an insect and toss you as hard as I can down the hall! You know I can beat you so go!"

Sirius looked like he was fighting a battle within his own head and started backpedalling. "Harry I swear to God if you don't come back, I'm going to find you wherever you are and beat your bloody head in—and when your mother tries to murder me I'm telling her you threatened me!" That was his last word before he took off running down the hall.

Harry made sure Sirius was completely out of sight before he turned to consider the situation. He was standing at the intersection of three different hallways. One of them was the way they had come from Dumbledore's office; another was the way that Sirius had just run towards the lower levels; and the others he had no idea where it led. He could hear the people getting closer so he readied himself. He shed his chameleon cloak he was wearing, letting it drop to the floor. He tightened the pieces of his body armor, and then crouched down into a fighting position.

The first group of people came down the hallway they had traveled from Dumbledore's office. Six of them stood there, all older than the ones they ran into before. One of them, a bulky man with a shaved head, stepped up and drew his sword. "Drop your wand and place your hands at your sides. You are under arrest for breaking you exile and trespassing on Hogwarts grounds. You will be held in the dungeons until Lord Dumbledore returns to decide your punishment."

Harry made no move to drop his wand. "I thought it was the Wizengamot's responsibility to determine punishment for criminals," Harry stated.

"Lord Dumbledore declared years ago that it was the job of the Wizengamot only to create law. Lord Dumbledore determines what offenders deserve. Your punishment will be considerably harsher if you do not comply and drop you wand."

Harry was keeping the conversation going while he took in his surroundings and formulated a plan. He was well aware now that more soldiers had arrived and were currently blocking all of his exits. He looked along the wall and an idea came to mind. Discreetly, he waved his wand, just enough to achieve his desired spell. "What are you going to do if I continue to refuse?"

The soldier gestured behind and to the side of Harry. "If you have not noticed you are surrounded and you are alone. It would be extremely foolish to continue your stubbornness."

Harry laughed, "Oh, that's where you're wrong. I'm definitely not alone." Harry waved his wand once more and the sound of metal hitting the stone floor rung through the castle. The soldier who had been speaking looked confused and that was the last expression that would ever adorn his face as the enchanted suit of armor that normally stood unmoving swung its battle axe into the man's chest, spraying crimson against the opposite wall. Five more suits of armor sprung to life, yielding their weapons against Dumbledore's soldiers.

All of the soldiers turned their attention from Harry to the enchanted figures that were wreaking havoc without mercy. Harry turned around and sent a reducto curse at the ground underneath the soldiers blocking his path. The castle rumbled and floor crumbled beneath the soldiers, sending them falling to the lower levels of the castle to their deaths. The only problem now was that there was a large gap in the path that he needed to travel down.

A spell flew over his shoulder, barely missing his neck and he turned to where it had originated. A few of the soldiers had broken away from the suits of armor and were beginning to throw curses at him. Harry did his best to dodge what was coming, but it was difficult to in such a confined area. His father had been right about the people in the castle—they weren't averse to causing extreme harm. One of the curses that Harry ducked under hit the opposite wall and began dissolving the stone. Harry countered one of the attackers and sent a stunner hitting the person in the face, knocking him out of the fight.

The two remaining soldiers began to gang up on Harry, forcing him to erect shields to fend off the attacks. Unfortunately he was too slow with one of his shields and a slashing curse caught him across the right eye. Blood began to pour into his vision, forcing him to keep the eyelid closed. The soldiers tried to take advantage of his injury by moving to his right, but Harry summoned two portraits off of the wall and impaled them over the men's heads. They struggled to break free, but the thick canvas constricted their arms, rendering them helpless.

Harry looked over with his one good eye to see the status of the other battle and was pleased to see that four suits of armor were still intact while only one soldier was still living. However, that didn't last long as one suit of armor sliced the soldier's wand arm off and another disemboweled him. Harry had to look away as the man slithered to the floor into a puddle of his own fluids. He canceled the charm on the armor and left them standing in the middle of the hall.

He tasted the coppery blood running down from his eye to his lips. The pain from the cut finally started to hit and he had to repeatedly tell himself not touch the wound. The fear that he would lose his sight if he didn't move fast motivated him to move on. The path that was currently in need of a bridge he knew for sure led down to the first floor of the castle so he took a step back and ran full speed at the gap. He jumped as soon as he hit the edge and was ecstatic when he landed clear on the other side. Harry ran, not really sure of where he was going, only concentrating on going down. He passed several students on the way down, but they merely looked at him curiously. Harry guessed that there wasn't as big of a guard at the castle when Dumbledore was away because he didn't run into anymore of the adult soldiers.

He had given up on trying to find the passage that they had entered the castle through—there was simply too man parts of the castle that looked alike. As he made it to the second floor, he began to hear more footsteps running toward him again. He slowed down when he found a final staircase that looked down onto the entrance hall and the main doors to the castle that were wide open. He grabbed a small coin that was his portkey and readied himself to scurry down the steps and out of the door, but stopped again when he saw a dozen soldiers come through—apparently someone had called for reinforcements.

The soldiers saw him standing on the top of the staircase and hastily began casting at him. Harry rolled away, avoiding the onslaught and tried to think of some way to get out of the mess he was in. He could hear them running up the staircase, still throwing spells aimlessly in his direction. He saw a way out, an incredibly stupid way out, but he was desperate now. His pursuers came nearer so he jumped to his feet, blew out the closest window and dived out.

He soared through the frigid air for a second before his shoulder hit the ground, and he howled in pain as he felt it separate. His portkey had been in his injured arm and was now lost in the piled snow. He cursed and pushed himself up on his good arm. There was no way he could move all of the snow away so he followed Sirius' example and began melting the snow. Luckily the coin hadn't sunk down too low so he was able to locate it quickly. He touched the tip of his wand to the portkey and disappeared, just missing a hail of spellfire out of the castle.


	10. Chapter 10

Harry had successfully made it out of Hogwarts, but that was really the only thing going for him at this point. The portkey had unceremoniously deposited him almost a mile away from the castle and he had landed directly on his injured shoulder. He was currently lying on his back in the middle of the forest doing his best not to move. The pain he was experiencing in his slashed eye was bad, but it was severely lacking compared to his shoulder. It was so strong that he could feel his body trembling and he was biting his lip almost to the point of drawing blood.

He lay on the ground unmoving several more agonizing minutes. Harry knew he needed to get back to the castle, but his body was protesting against it. He felt completely devoid of energy; he was still trembling, but less now from the pain and more from the harsh winter weather. The blood that had been trickling down from his eye had begun to freeze and harden and he had no feeling in his eyelid at all. With one last, extremely taxing effort, he tried to roll onto his good arm, but the sudden jostling tweaked his separated shoulder and he fell onto his back once again, the pain making him lightheaded. Harry's last thought as the pain overtook him and the blackness seeped in was that he was going to freeze to death in the middle of the forest and no one would ever know.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

He thought that he was dead at first, but then he felt a hand pushing back the hair on his forehead. He noticed that the hand was petite and tried to open his eyes to see its owner. His left eye opened with little trouble, but he wasn't able to open the right. Panic set in and he immediately feared that he had lost his vision, but a soft voice calmed his worries.

"Don't worry Harry, your eye is fine," the voice said. "Mum put some potion on it and wrapped it to keep it closed."

Harry looked to his right with his one good eye and saw his little sister sitting in a chair that had been pulled directly next to his bed. He instantly recognized the look on her face; a combination of fear, sadness, and anger. Her eyes were rimmed red, indicating that she had been crying. He hated seeing her like that and normally would have gathered her into his arms, but his shoulder was still slightly stinging so he settled for reaching out and grasping her small hand. "Hey what's wrong V?"

"You frightened me, that's what's wrong," she squeaked out. "Uncle Sirius came back holding onto some old book and told Dad that you hadn't come back. Mum and I overheard them talking when Dad said that you had gone to Hogwarts."

Harry stared up at the ceiling and sighed, "That can't have gone well."

"No, it didn't go well at all," Vera confirmed. "Mum screamed at Dad for a few minutes then she punched Uncle Sirius in the face for leaving without you. Then she started crying and told them they better find you or else. They left quickly after that and an hour later they carried you back here. You looked horrible."

Harry laughed dryly, "I definitely feel better than I did, not that that's saying much."

"And I should have left you as you were found for lying to your mother like that," Lily Potter scolded from the doorway. "I swear to Merlin Harry James Potter, you had better not do it again." She walked over and carefully took a seat next to Harry on the edge of his bed. Harry could tell that she was more worried and disappointed than she was actually angry.

"I know I should have told you, but in my defense Dad told me not to," Harry mumbled trying to do some damage control.

His mother's faced switched to an angry scowl. "I'm well aware of that Harry and trust me he hasn't heard the end of what I have to say on the matter." Her look softened and she reached up to run her fingers through his hair. "I'm just glad that you're alright. Now let's try and take that wrap off of your eye. It's been on there long enough for the potion to work." She bent down and reached behind Harry's head to untie the bandage. He felt it break loose and then the scratchy material fell away from his face.

Harry slowly forced his right eyelid open, and although the bright light that invaded his eye was painful at first, it also assured him that he still had his vision. He breathed a huge sigh of relief and waited several seconds for his eye to adjust and gain focus. He got his first good glimpse of his surroundings, and looking through the window he could tell that it was dark outside. "How long have I been out for?" he asked his mother.

"Quite a few hours," she explained. "I made some food if you're hungry. You can come to the kitchen or if you don't feel up to it I'll bring it to you."

"How come I never get to eat in bed?" Vera pouted.

Lily gave her a stern look, "Because you've never done something as stupid as sneaking into Hogwarts and returned barely alive. And you never will if I have anything to say about it young lady."

Harry looked over at his sister and offered her a smile. "That's alright V; I think I can make it to the kitchen." Harry looked back at his mother. "Is Dad here or is he at his office?"

"Your coward of a father has retreated to his office with your Uncle to avoid anymore yelling from me. I'm sure he'll be back soon to check on you. I've got his couch all fixed up for him to sleep on."

Harry couldn't help but laugh. "I hope he gets back soon. I want to know what he's planning on doing with the book we retrieved."

Lily shrugged, standing up from the edge of the bed. "I don't know Harry; you'll have to ask him about it when he returns. Come to the kitchen when you're ready and I'll heat the food up for you."

"Thanks mum," Harry said as his mother exited through his bedroom door. He was left alone with his sister who was looking at him now with a questioning stare. "What's wrong?"

She hesitated for a second, but then asked, "Are you still going to able to take me flying this week like you promised?"

Harry gave her a wry grin. "And here I though that you were actually upset that I had been hurt, but you were really just concerned about your prospects of going up on a broom. I should have known," Harry shook his head and sighed dramatically. Vera looked extremely affronted at his accusation, but Harry quickly soothed her by grabbing her hand. "I'm just joking V. As for the flying, I'll try my best, but something big is going on and I might have to help out Dad again."

Vera raised an eyebrow at him, "You really believe Mum is going to allow you out of here? Good luck with that." She stood up from her chair and placed a kiss on her brother's cheek. "I am really glad you're ok. Now are you coming to the kitchen?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, hold on." Harry looked under the blanket that was covering his body and checked to make sure he was adequately attired. His armor had been removed, but he was still wearing his athletic pants and a thin shirt. He pushed the blanket off to the side and slid his leg off of the edge of the bed. He rotated his previously injured shoulder a few times to test his mobility and was satisfied when he only experienced some slight discomfort. Standing up, he walked over to the wall where there was a small mirror hanging. Looking into it, he closed his right eye and saw just a faint white line over his eyelid where he had been slashed. If it was a choice between a small scar and his vision, he would choose another scar every time. He grabbed a green sweater and slipped it on before following his sister out of the room.

A half hour later, Harry was sitting at the kitchen table with his empty plates sitting in front of him. He was just finishing a cup of tea when his father walked into the kitchen. James looked at him and a smile graced his face when he saw that his son was alright. His smile quickly left though when he peered around the kitchen and tried to look in the sitting room.

Harry instantly knew what was going on. "If you're hoping to avoid Mum then you don't have to worry because she's in your bedroom reading. Although she did tell me to let you know she left an extra pillow out for you on the couch."

James shook his head and took a seat across from his son. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright," Harry responded. "Mum did a good job of patching me up. She wasn't too happy with you though."

James snorted, "I think her not being happy with me is a huge understatement. It took poor Sirius an hour for his nose to stop bleeding. Not that I can really blame her for hitting him, I can't say that it wasn't tempting when he showed up with the book and not you."

Harry interrupted him, "You can't blame him Dad, I forced him to go. Getting that book was extremely important."

James looked at his son completely frustrated. "That's just it son, that book is important, but you are much more so. I hate that stupid prophecy just as much as you, but the fact still remains that it exists. Every time you go out in the future, you need to think about that you're the only one who can take down Dumbledore. It's not fair, but that's life. You need to promise me that in the future you won't even think about sacrificing yourself. Promise me Harry. Promise that you won't extinguish our only hope of taking back our lives."

Harry listened to his father and felt the anger burning within him. He hated that prophecy, hated everything about it. Why was his life so much more important than everyone else's? He couldn't put his life on the line like the others because he was their only hope. Would he be able to sit back and watch someone he cared for die? Could he watch as someone threw a killing curse at his friends or family and not jump in front of it? He knew that the answer was no, but he would say what his father wanted to hear just to end the discussion.

"I promise."

James nodded, "Thank you son. Now we can move onto the matter of the book that you and Sirius recovered. We've been studying it for the past few hours and we think we have most of its features worked out. There are names in that book that range from hundreds of years ago up to the present. It has the current addresses with the names along with the lineage so we were able to find all of the muggleborns from the past seventeen years. Some of them are dead and some are out of the country so we were able to compose a list of the ones still here. All in all there were only five names on the list."

"How are we going to retrieve them?" Harry asked.

"We're going to send someone to each of the homes to inform the families of the situation and discuss the options. They will be brought back and either decide to stay here or we'll help them out of the country."

Harry stared at his father with a hopeful expression, "Who are you sending to get them?"

"I've handed out four of the names and locations to four of my best men."

"And what of the fifth?" Harry pushed on.

James didn't speak at first, but reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. He placed it on the table in between them. "What happens with the fifth is up to you. Either you can decide to take it or I'll find someone else. I know you're much more than capable so I want you to do it."

"Of course I'll do it," Harry said starting to reach for the parchment, but before he could his father placed his hand atop his own.

"Before you take that name, I want you to remember your promise—no unnecessary risks."

Harry nodded and picked up the piece of parchment. He heard his father in the background telling him that he needed to go early tomorrow morning, but his attention was transfixed to the paper. Using his thumb, he pushed the folds of paper apart and got his first look at the name. His only thought was that he had never heard a name like it—_Hermione Granger._


	11. Chapter 11

Harry felt extremely odd walking out in the open as if he were a normal person living in uncomplicated times. He was currently in central London, Camden to be exact. It was the location of his assigned target and from what he could that had to be pretty well off financially. He had Apparated a good distance away in a clearing to make sure that his appearance went unnoticed, but he thought he probably could have appeared yelling and screaming and no one would have noticed. The very upscale neigborhood was full of large, expensive homes, but most looked like they had been deserted for quite some time. The lawns looked like small forests and some of the houses windows and doors had been boarded up. Harry guessed that these people were probably some of the first to get out of the country as they had the resources more readily available. He really hoped that he hadn't been assigned to pick up a bunch of snobs.

He walked further down the street until he stopped in front of the only house around that looked like it was still occupied. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out the little slip of paper that his father had given. Checking the address on the paper and the one in front of the house he was satisfied that he was in the right place. Now that he was where he needed to be, he took some time to scan his surroundings. The house in front of him was well kept. It was a beautiful two story home, mostly made out of brick. A long, paved driveway led to a garage that was separate from the house. Harry walked up the driveway slowly,peering around to the edges of the property. He slipped his hand into the interior of his jacket and pulled out his wand from its hiding place. Making sure there was no one watching, he waved his wand and placed a security ward around the property that would alert him if any magical being got close. He tucked the wand back into his jacket and approached the porch and the front door.

On the heavy wooden door there was an elegant knocker which Harry used several times, hard enough to make sure that someone could hear no matter where they were in the house. It was early so he hoped that the Granger weren't still asleep as that would cause some additional problems. He couldn't wait around and breaking into the house and scaring the family wouldn't do either, but if it came down to it he wouldn't have much of a choice. Luckily he was spared that situation as he heard footsteps faintly on the opposite side of the door. He took a step back, adjusting his clothing to make sure he was presentable. To the side of the door on each side were thin window panes covered by curtains and Harry notice one of them pulled back for an instant before he could hear the locks on the door being undone. The door opened slowly and once it was fully pulled aside, Harry was faced with who he could only guess was Mrs. Granger. She was a very attractive woman, probably in her early to mid forties. She had shoulder length brown hair and a slim figure which was covered by a light blue bath robe.

"Can I help you, young man?" she asked in a very soft and welcoming tone.

Harry smiled politely at her, glad that she didn't sound very snobbish at all. "Good morning Mrs. Granger. I'm sorry to call on you so early, but I'm here because I have some very important things to talk to you and your family about and I promise you I'm not trying to sell you anything. Oh, I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Harry Potter." Harry reached out his hand nervously, but was glad when the woman held out her own hand to shake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Harry. My name is Anne. What is it exactly that you need to tell us that is so important?"

Harry's friendly demeanor fell off just a bit as he considered how to phrase what he wanted to say. "I don't want to frighten you Anne, but it's actually about your daughter and your family's safety. I'm sure you're well aware of what's been going on in the United Kingdom and this all ties into that. I don't want to impose, but would it be alright if we went inside and I discussed this with all of you?"

Anne immediately looked shaken when Harry mentioned her daughter's safety. Harry could barely imagine what she was feeling having someone show up at your home in the early morning talking about the safety of your child. He hoped that he wouldn't have to be more convincing, but was quickly relieved once again when Anne took a step back and motioned for him to enter. He moved inside and got his first look at the interior. The room was a small entrance hall that was decorated with various forms of artwork and a large brown rug that covered most of the floor. A lamp hanging from the ceiling was the only source of light. He was so engrossed in looking around that he almost forgot that Anne was still in the room with him.

"Why don't we head into the kitchen and I'll get you a cup of tea. I'm afraid my husband and daughter aren't down yet, but I'll go and gather them. Just follow me." Anne closed the door and locked it again. She stepped in front of Harry and started walking to the right side of the house. They passed through a comfortable looking sitting room and then into the kitchen. Harry admired many of the muggle appliances that he saw as he walked. Having grown up away from the muggle world, his mother had taught him about most of the things, but he had never really seen any of them up close before. Anne pointed the dining table and Harry obliged and took a seat. She must have been in the process of making herself tea before Harry had knocked because there was already some ready and sitting on the stove. After pouring some into a mug she sat it down in front of Harry. "There's some sugar on the table if you prefer Harry. I'll be right back down with the others." She left the kitchen and Harry eventually heard her soft footsteps climbing the staircase that he hadn't seen, but knew was somewhere around the house.

Harry put a small amount of sugar into his tea and stirred it around with the spoon that Anne had provided with his cup. He took careful sip as to not burn himself and felt as the tea calmed some of his nerves about the conversation he was about to have. Anne had been remarkably easy going and hospitable so far, but he didn't know how the rest of what he was going to say was going to be received. He continued drinking his tea and admiring the decorum of the kitchen until he heard three sets of footsteps making their way down the stairs. Harry put his mug down and backed his chair away from the table so that he could stand to greet the rest of the family. He stopped himself from fidgeting and stood straight as they walked into the kitchen. Anne entered first, and then behind her could only have been her husband. He was slightly taller than Harry and was in pretty good shape. If he had to guess, Harry would have said that he was in his mid forties, judging by the slight hint of gray in his light brown hair. He had obviously just gotten out of bed because he was dressed in dark blue pajamas and was wearing a pair of slippers. From the look on his face, Harry could tell that he wasn't very pleased to be up so early.

Having finished having a once over of Mr. Granger, Harry shifted his attention to the other person who had entered through the kitchen door. The moment he laid his eyes on her he immediately knew that he needed to thank his father for giving him this particular person to pick up. He knew that she was around the same age as him, but he had no idea that she was going to be extremely beautiful as well. Hermione had definitely inherited most of her mother's features, but she was much more developed in the places that counted; Harry was easily able to tell that even through her green bath robe. She had a very attractive face and her big brown eyes stood out strikingly. Her bushy brown hair was extremely tousled from sleeping, and Harry had to stop himself because he felt like it was calling for him to run his hands through it. Harry shook himself slightly not wanting to make the girl uncomfortable by staring at her. His attention was turned when Anne cleared her throat.

"Harry Potter, this is my husband Steven and my daughter Hermione."

Harry smiled at the two other people. "It's a pleasure to meet you Steven and Hermione."

"It's nice to meet you as well Mr. Potter although I'm a little confused as to the purpose of your visit," Steven said in a very curious tone.

Harry steeled himself once again for the upcoming conversation. "I'm afraid that you're no longer safe living here sir."

Steven instantly got very serious. "I don't really think that anyone is safe anymore Mr. Potter. In case you haven't noticed the whole country is in a bloody mess. The whole government is gone and the majority of the population has left."

Harry shook his head. "Trust me Steven, I'm well aware of the events that have occurred over the past decade, and this is even more serious. All of those things were random attacks and what I'm talking about is someone coming after your family, your daughter specifically."

"What?" Hermione instantly gasped. "Why would someone be after me?"

"Why would someone be coming after my daughter, Mr. Potter?" Steven asked getting extremely defensive.

Harry turned towards Hermione, ignoring her father's severe look, and tried to offer her a comforting smile. "Tell me Hermione, have you ever made something happen that you couldn't explain? Maybe you were angry or excited and something happened, but you just waved it off as a trick of the eyes? Has that ever happened to you Hermione?" Harry asked softly. Hermione looked instantly shaken with the questions, but all the same she backed up against the nearest wall and nodded her head in the affirmative. Harry walked over so that he was standing almost directly in front of her. "Did you ever wonder why those things happen?" Again, Hermione nodded her head. "That's understandable because I would have to. One last question for you Hermione; do you believe in magic?"

Everyone went silent at that question until Mr. Granger voiced his thoughts. "What kind of foolishness is this Mr. Potter? You come to our door saying that our daughter is in danger and now here you are spouting off about magic. I think we've given you enough of our time." He move forward and extended his hand looking like he was going to grab him, but Harry took a step back and held up his palms in a placating manner.

"Please just one more second Mr. Granger?" Steven took a step back and nodded, folding his arms against his chest. Harry turned again to face Hermione who was still looking upset. "Can you answer my question? Do you believe in magic? I'm not talking about card tricks or making rabbits appear out of hats, I'm talking about real magic."

Hermione reached up with shaking hand and ran them through her hair. She stared down at the ground for a few seconds then looked back up. She stared determinedly right into Harry's eyes. "Yes, I believe in magic."

Harry grinned. "I'm glad you do because you just happen to be a witch." He instantly regretted his lack of tact because he was instantly forced to duck when Mr. Granger grabbed angrily for him. Knowing that things were about to spiral out of control, Harry scurried for the safety of the opposite side of the table while simultaneously pulling his wand out of his jacket. Pointing his wand he shot a leg locker curse at Mr. Granger, making him stumble to the floor. The older man turned over onto his backside and looked up at Harry incredulously when he realized he couldn't move his legs.

"What did you do to me?" inquired Mr. Granger, actually looking frightened.

Harry lowered his wand now that he knew the man was subdued. "I'm a wizard Mr. Granger; I possess the ablility to perform real magic. I froze your legs so that you couldn't attack me. If I release you do you promise not come after me?" Mr. Granger agreed so Harry waved his wand once again and the curse was lifted. The man slowly pulled himself to his feet, still looking like he was going to have a panic attack. "When I said your daughter was a witch, I wasn't insulting her. It's just the name that we give to a female who can perform magic. You've got to look past the stereotypical image that you associate with that word. Now why don't we all sit down and I'll explain to you my reason for being here." Harry took a seat at the table, placing his wand on the table as he did so. Anne, who had been completely silent to that point, was the first to take a seat, followed right after by her daughter who took the seat across from Harry. Mr. Granger too k the seat next to his wife only after she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him down.

Harry began talking to Mr. Granger. "You mentioned before the situation that was going on in the United Kingdom and there's more to it than meets the eye. All of the disaster and deaths, the collapse of the government and the economy—it wasn't foreign terrorists who were responsible for any of it."

"Then who was it?" Hermione asked.

"Before I answer that, you have to know something about the magical population," Harry began. "Just like how there is racism and division in the non-magical world, there's also division in the magical community. Instead of race though, it's all about blood status and lineage. For witches and wizards, there are three different types. The first is what we call a muggleborn, someone who is born to two parents who don't possess any magical ability. Just like you Hermione." The girl nodded, hanging onto every word Harry was saying. "Alright, then the second type is what we call a half blood. Half bloods have one parent who is a non magic user, a muggle, or a muggleborn and one parent who is of pure blood status. In case you're wondering, that's what I happen to be. My father is a pureblood wizard, but my mother is a muggleborn witch. The last group, pure bloods, is where the problems begin."

Harry was about to continue, but Hermione interrupted him. "I'm sorry for stopping you," she added shyly, "but I think I can guess what you're going to say. The pure bloods look down on the other two groups because they feel they are superior."

"Exactly right, Hermione," Harry praised. "For centuries there have been struggles between the purebloods and the other groups. The whole government was always made up of pure bloods so the discrimination went unchecked. The discrimination was bad, but about seventeen years ago was probably one of the worst days in our history. The Headmaster of one of the most prestigious magical schools in the world, Albus Dumbledore, took control of the government."

"Wouldn't it have been better though to have an educated man in charge?" Mr. Granger asked.

Harry laughed darkly at that. "Oh, he was educated all right. Unfortunately he was educated in the Dark Arts of magic—magic meant to harm and kill—magic meant to gain power. The worst part was that for years he had acted like he was on the side of all the people, fighting for equal rights. In reality he was corrupting generations of students, spreading hate. Then he knifed everyone in the back and took control. He banished all the muggleborns and sympathizers from the United Kingdom—made them outlaws with death sentences. Just getting rid of them wasn't enough though. He decided that he wanted to take down the non magic community as well. Like I told you before, it wasn't foreign terrorists who decimated the United Kingdom—it was Dumbledore."

"But how was he able to do it?" Anne questioned. "Why didn't the army or the other people like you oppose him?"

"Magic can do wonderful, amazing things Anne—unfortunately it can do just the opposite as well. There are ways to control other people's minds which is what Dumbledore did. He was controlling them—making them act in his interests. He completely dismantled the government from the inside. Once he had control of the government he dissolved the military, and then the economy. It was all meant to dishearten the people and it worked. As to why the people like me didn't try to stop him—the truth is that we're outnumbered. Dumbledore spent years and years bringing people to his cause and now he has his own army of followers."

"So this man Dumbledore, he has an army of wizards who control the United Kingdom? What does this have to do with Hermione?" Mr. Granger requested again.

"I told you Mr. Granger, Hermione is a witch, she's one of us. She should have received a letter when she was eleven to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dumbledore was in control though by that time, so he stopped any efforts to educate muggleborns. Now however, his power has gotten to him and he's become paranoid. He eventually wants to get rid of all the muggles, but first he wants any of them who possess magical ability dead. He's taking no chances of someone rising against him."

"He's coming to kill me," Hermione whispered.

"Well not him specifically," Harry added. "He'll send his minions to do it for him. But don't worry Hermione," Harry reached out and placed a comforting hand over her own, "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. That's the reason I'm here."

"There's nowhere to go though, Harry," Anne stated. "London is the only major city still operating somewhat. There's no way out of the country."

"That's where you're wrong Anne. After Dumbledore seized power, my father and some others decided to remain in the United Kingdom to build up a resistance force against him. We've been in hiding for almost two decades now. We have a system of muggle castles that are heavily secured where we've set up our own community. We also have a path that leads to mainland Europe—the only one that isn't being monitored or blocked. I'm here to bring you with me. After that is up to you."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"I mean that I can take you with me and you can make your way to Europe to start a new life or you can stay with us and Hermione can be taught about magic like she should have been years ago. Either way, I need to get you out of here," Harry finished.

"When would we have to leave?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Immediately," Harry answered. "You can pack all your clothing and important possessions and I'll shrink them down so their easy to carry."

"What about money Mr. Potter? I don't have any great amount on hand," Mr. Granger stated.

Harry waved of his concern. "You won't need to worry about that Mr. Granger. Everything that our resistance has is shared by everyone. We don't have anything to pay for. All of our supplies are paid for by some extremely wealthy families. We have people who practice certain trades, but everything they produce is free."

"Almost twenty years in hiding is a long time. Aren't you going to run out money at some point?" Hermione asked.

"Actually the bankers in the magic community have remained neutral and are still protecting all of the exiled family's accounts. My father keeps in contact with them and they invest money under false names and in foreign economies. We have a constant stream of profits coming in, so there are no problems there. Do you have any more family who live in the country?" Harry asked.

Anne shook her head. "No, my parents live in France and Steven's have passed away."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but it makes it easier to get out."

"How exactly _are_ we getting out?" This came from Mr. Granger.

Harry reached back into his jacket out pulled out a pure white quill. "This right here is what's called a portkey. It's enchanted to transport a person or group of people to a specific location. All it takes is one touch of my wand and it's activated." The mention of the wand instantly drew Hermione's attention as she looked down at Harry's which was still lying on the table. "You can hold it if you like." Hermione nervously reached out and gripped the wand by the handle. She instantly hopped backwards when yellow sparks shot out of the end. "Nothing to worry about," Harry assured her.

"It feels strange," Hermione said as she settled back down. "It feels like something warm is traveling up my arm."

"That's just your magic reacting with the core of the wand. Every wand is unique in some way, but they all have some type of magical core in them. Mine has a phoenix feather inside."

Hermione looked up excitedly, "Phoenixes are real?"

Harry chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yes, they're real. I had the great fortune to run into one yesterday, but most witches and wizards go their whole lives without seeing them."

"Oh," Hermione whispered disappointedly.

"Don't worry though, Hermione. I'm sure there are plenty of other things that you thought were just myth, but are actually real. How about dragons?" Harry asked.

Anne looked wide eyed. "You're joking aren't you? Dragons can't be real."

"I assure they are Anne. There is a heard of them by one of the castles that we have," Harry informed her. "But I can tell you all about them some other time. Since I think I've convinced you, why don't you three go up, get changed and pack your things. I'll be up to shrink them when you're finished. Make sure to dress warm because it's going to be quite cold where we're going." Just as Harry finished speaking, the wand that was still being clutched in Hermione's hand started to vibrate.

"What's going on?" she asked as she dropped the wand back to the table, fearing she had done something wrong.

Harry instantly shot to his feet, grabbing the wand and going to the nearest window. He didn't think that Dumbledore would've acted so quickly, but someone must have discovered that they had stolen the book. Moody would probably give him a stern lecture when he saw him next for not simply stunning the Grangers and dragging them to the portkey. He pulled the curtain aside discreetly and saw three figures in hooded black cloaks walking up the driveway with another two walking around toward the back house. He let out a slow breath, frustrated that nothing could ever be done without some sort of trouble. He turned around and was met with a much discomforted Granger family staring back at him. "I need you all to listen to me and do what I say. This is extremely important if you want to make it out of this house alive. The people who I said were coming to kill Hermione are here—right now. I'm going to follow you all upstairs and activate the portkey. Then I'm going to place it on the ground while you three gather your things. After you've finished, all of you need to grab on at the same time and you'll be transported to a safe location. I won't have time to shrink your things so hold onto them tight when you touch the quill."

"What about you?" Hermione asked, her face showing great concern.

"I'm going to come back downstairs after I activate the portkey and hold them off until you're gone. I don't need to use the portkey, I have other ways of traveling. When you arrive at the safe location, ask for James Potter and tell him that I sent you along. Now hurry up and get your things," Harry ordered ushering them out of the kitchen. He followed the three of them upstairs as they separated to their separate bedrooms. He placed the quill into the middle of the hallway onto the carpeted floor and tapped it with his wand. "Alright you three, as soon as you're finished get to the portkey!" He turned around and started making his way back down the stairs, noting as he did so Hermione's voice calling out and wishing him luck. He shed his jacket, throwing it onto the floor, and then extended his wand in front of him, waiting for what was to come.


	12. Chapter 12

Harry stood in the Granger's entrance hall, waiting for Dumbledore's soldiers to make their way into the house. He wasn't sure if they would initially try to force their way in, or try to get the Granger's to come to the door as they had done for him. His anticipation continued to grow as more and more time seemed to go by. The Grangers could still be heard upstairs scurrying around to retrieve their things. He was hopeful that they could finish quickly so there was no reason to get into a skirmish. Unfortunately, his lack of luck continued as there was a large explosion that shook the foundation of the house. He heard the footsteps upstairs start to move faster as he looked for enemy soldiers. It sounded as if they had made their way in through the back, but not knowing the layout of the house, he didn't know where the back door was located. There were three different paths off of the entrance hall and he only knew the one to the right led to the sitting room and kitchen and the one in the middle led to the stairs.

He moved in a circle, not keeping his back to any of the passages for very long. The soldiers were moving through the house methodically, searching every single room and space for the Grangers. Harry heard them moving closer to his position and it sounded as if they were coming toward the left passage. He stood straight up against the left hand wall so that he wouldn't be visible when they came through. Using his wand, he conjured a long piece of rope and attached it towards the bottom of the passage into the entrance hall. He finished it off by placing a disillusionment charm on the rope and then waited. Just a second later, Harry watched a boot clad foot try to take a step into the entrance hall. The foot quickly met the invisible rope, and its owner came flying forwards landing on his face with a resounding crack. Unfortunately, the soldier who had been behind the one that fell somehow managed to step over the rope. He still hadn't noticed Harry who was pressed firmly against the wall.

The second soldier bent down to help his comrade out and that was when Harry struck. With a powerful stunner from his wand, the soldier was blown backwards into the far wall—as he hit, the wall cracked and a painting fell, landing on top of him. The first soldier was trying to get up while at the same time halt the flow of blood that was pouring down his face from his impact with the floor. Harry didn't give him time to gather himself and launched a vicious kick at the man's forehead. Harry didn't take much pleasure when he heard the soldier's neck snap, but it was one less thing to worry about for the time being. He looked back into the hallway from where the soldiers had entered, but didn't see anyone else. The sound of movement upstairs was still present and he wished that the Grangers would move a little bit faster. Just as he tied up the soldier who he had blown into the wall, another explosion rocked the house. This time the explosion was the front door being blown in and Harry was thrown forward towards the staircase, little pieces of debris embedding themselves into his back and neck.

Harry crawled on all fours to the base of the stairs and tried to gather himself. On the back of his neck, where the skin was exposed, he could feel where the blast had burned him and singed his hair. His back was also extremely uncomfortable, but his immediate concern for his survival made him push that to the back of his mind. He had been lucky that his back was towards the door or else his face would have been at risk. Pushing his body up quickly he turned around and looked at the ruin that was once the front of the house. Most of the wall had been destroyed and there wasn't any sign of remnants of the front door that could be seen through the smoke. The smoke was thick at first, but then started to dissipate revealing the forms of ten soldiers making their way into the house. Realizing that things couldn't get any worse, he turned around intent on yelling for the Grangers to leave the house immediately. It turned out that things _could _get worse because he was met with the sight of a flustered Hermione making her way down the stairs. He hurried to intercept her before she could make her way any further.

Harry grabbed her around the waist as she tried to continue down the stairs and forced her to face him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Harry whispered furiously. "There are twelve people on the other side of the wall who want you dead."

She looked extremely upset at being scolded. "I left one of my books downstairs—I just wanted to grab it quickly," she whispered back.

He had to fight himself not to scream in frustration. Instead he placed his hands on her shoulders and made her look at him. "I swear that I will search to the ends of the Earth and back for another copy of your book, but right now you need to get your parents and leave. I won't be able to stop them without bringing the entire house down. Grab whatever you have packed and leave now!" Harry turned her forcefully and gave her a shove up the stairs making her stumble slightly before she regained her balance. Harry turned back around and slowly made his way down the steps. He was going to go buy a little bit more time.

He stepped back into the entrance hall and watched as a few of the soldiers were untying the injured soldier, while a couple more checked on the dead one. The other ones were pushing aside some of the rubble from the explosion. Upon seeing Harry, they all shifted their attention and leveled their wands at him.

"Who the fuck are you boy? Nobody said anything about another kid being here besides the little bitch we're supposed to kill," growled a burly man in front with a bald head.

"Oh, my name isn't important. I just came to let you know that the Grangers have another engagement that they need to attend to and won't be able to meet with you," Harry said with a bright smile. "I'm sure that we can schedule another time for you to meet."

The bald soldier yelled again, "Stop fucking around boy!" He shot a spell at Harry whom simply batted it away. The soldier fired two more in quick succession, but Harry again shielded himself with little effort. The soldier kept firing, increasing the strength and potency of his spells as he went. Harry was forced to move a bit, but his shields still held. The soldier was beginning to tire and with one last desperate killing curse that was off the mark he dropped his wand hand to his side in exhaustion, his magic depleted.

Harry straightened his jacket then looked back at the soldier. "Well, I guess you've had your shot, so it's my turn now." Harry raised his wand and reared back before waving it an arc and sending a silver curse at his opponent. The curse sailed through the air, crashing right through the soldier's hastily erected shield and straight into his chest. He staggered backwards when it hit, but other than that,there wasn't any immediate reaction. The soldier looked smug for a second thinking that the spell was lacking any significant power, but then he suddenly dropped his wand and both his hands gripped his head as he began to wail in agony. All of the other soldiers looked confused, not knowing what was happening to him. Harry concluded that they probably had no idea what the spell was because it wasn't that well known and wasn't exactly considered dark, although it teetered right on the edge. Right now the screaming soldier had what was the equivalent to a stadium full of people cheering inside of his head. The noise was so painful that he was starting to claw at his scalp and opening up thick gashes that were bleeding profusely. Some of his fellow soldiers tried to grab him, but he simply swung his arms at them in a craze. Seeing that the man was completely out of it, Harry released the spell and watched as the man passed out cold in a heap onto the floor.

After Harry released the spell, he heard the signature whoosh of someone taking a portkey from upstairs and knew it was time to make his exit. He looked at the other soldiers who were starting to advance towards him. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be able to stay and talk with the rest of you. If you get the chance could you give Dumbledore a message for me? Tell him to go fuck himself. I'll see you all later." Harry waved and turned on the spot, Apparating away and just missing nine more spells intent on ending his life.

When Harry reappeared he was standing on the bank of the river that ran along Warwick Castle. He was still about a mile out, right where the Apparation wards came to an end. His father had taken down the anti-portkey wards just for the day so that the muggleborn families could be brought directly into the castle. He had anticipated that everyone would be able to take the portkeys back including Harry and the other members of the resistance—unfortunately Harry was never one to do the expected. Unfortunately, now he was forced to walk back—the cool wind was whipping against him, causing the burns on his neck and back to sting—and there was a small, annoying, pessimistic voice in the back of his head telling him that he had been mistaken and that the Grangers hadn't actually used the portkey yet, or not all of them touched it. There wasn't anything he could do about it now—surely the place was still crawling with Dumbledore's men—but that didn't mean that he would have a peaceful thought until he made it back to the castle.

Some of his apprehension left him when he was finally in sight of the castle's gatehouse. The guard quickly opened the magical gate when he realized that it was Harry's ruffled form that was approaching. The guard waved at Harry, but seeing as his mind was only on one thing, making sure that the Grangers had made it back and that his mission had been a success, he walked past without acknowledging it. However, his progress was stopped at the sight of one of their resistance's top generals and one of his father's advisors, Edward Bailey. He was a tall, intimidating man with long dark hair that fell over his shoulders. An auror at the time that Dumbledore had seized power, Bailey was now one of the wizards in charge of training their fighters. Harry had no doubt that Bailey was waiting for him because he wasn't the type of man to be just standing around and wasting the day away—he was always on the move. Bailey pulled his cloak tighter around himself and looked at Harry grimly.

"Why weren't you attached to the portkey when it came back?" Bailey asked sternly.

Harry looked at the man like he was crazy. "I would think it was obvious," Harry commented, casually turning around so that Bailey could get a view at his damaged back. "I didn't do this to myself."

"How many soldiers were there?" Bailey inquired, ignoring Harry's tone.

Harry thought for a moment, "I don't know an exact number because I think they may have brought in more at some point, but there were at least a dozen."

"Any taken out?"

"I'm pretty sure I killed one, and incapacitated another two."

"You're lucky little Potter," Harry groaned at that name that Bailey took pleasure in calling him, "because you're the only one to make it back."

Harry quickly sobered at hearing those words. What did he mean that Harry was the only one back? "What the hell are you talking about?"

Bailey stared at him with a steeled expression. "I'm saying that you and that family you went after are the only ones to make it back. None of the other four men we sent have shown up and they're way past due. From what you just told me, I don't think we should get our hopes up that they will be returning." That last statement hung in the air for a few moments and Harry was hit hard with its implication. Four of their fighters and four muggle families were all dead. "Come on, your father's waiting and we need to get your back looked at." Harry slowly followed Bailey as he started off towards the main part of the castle. He watched as the people who called the castle their home moved around and took part in their daily affairs. Watching the kids and the families reminded Harry that four families would soon be getting the news that their loved ones wouldn't ever be returning.

Harry stepped into the castle's main hall and walked down to his father's office maintaining his pace so that he remained behind the General. Bailey stepped in first which drew James Potter's attention. Harry barely noticed the Grangers seated in a few chairs before his father got up looking extremely relieved and came over to embrace him. He gritted his teeth when his father placed his arms around him, but didn't move as his father hugged him.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you son," James said, clearly conflicted with the happiness of seeing his son and the fact that four of their resistance's members were likely dead. "You had me worried when you didn't come back with the portkey. We'll discuss why you didn't come back that way later," James said looking sternly at his son. Harry just nodded knowing that he was going to be lectured at for something once again. James turned to the Grangers and pointed them towards Bailey who was still standing in the doorway to the office. "I know that everything that's happened this morning is a lot to take in. You said that Harry explained the general situation, so why don't you follow Mr. Bailey here to a private room where you can get some rest and some food. Take as much time as you need to discuss everything, and if you want to stay with us that would be great, but if not we'll get you safely out of the country."

The Grangers nodded and stood up from their seats and headed towards Bailey who was waiting patiently for them. Before she reached the door, Hermione came over to Harry and pulled him into a hug, causing him to wince again in pain. He carefully put his arms around her and patted her on the back.

"Thank you so much for coming for us and getting us out," Hermione said as she took a step back, looking extremely grateful.

Harry simply shrugged at her thanks. "I'm glad that you're all ok—and I hope you choose to stay." Hermione smiled and turned to leave, but before she could Harry stopped her. "Don't forget, I owe you a book."

Hermione laughed, "I'll write down the title for you." She turned around and followed her parents back out of the door. Harry watched her all the way out before he turned and realized his father was back seated at his desk. He pulled up one of the seats that the Grangers had just vacated and took a seat as well.

"Who did we lose?" Harry asked his father quietly.

James ran a hand through his dark hair before answering. "Jenkins, Miller, Clayton, and Cole," he answered miserably. Harry just nodded, only recognizing the names not really knowing the people. "There's no guarantee their actually dead, but they should have been back by now—and if they've been captured then they are as good as."

"Did Dumbledore come back? Is that why he sent soldiers, because he found out that the book was missing?"

James shrugged, "According to our spies, he's back, but we don't actually have any idea if he knew about the book. Chances are that today was the day that it was scheduled for the soldiers to come after the muggleborns. He had obviously already given out the orders because they knew the locations to attack."

Harry agreed with his father. Either there was another copy of the book, which he doubted, or else Dumbledore had preselected the date. How else did the soldiers know where to go? "When are you going to tell the families?" Harry inquired.

"Not yet," James responded. "Only two of them had any living family. I'm going to do it tonight—just in case, by some miracle, they make it back." They fell into silence, and just as Harry was getting ready to go get some medical attention for his back his father spoke. "I need you to tell me what happened, Harry. Why did you need to Apparate back? You had orders to come back on the portkey with the family."

Harry sighed, he knew this was coming. "After I explained to the Grangers what was going on, I told them to go get changed and packed so that we could go. Unfortunately, that was when we realized Dumbledore's men had shown. I had them go to the upstairs of the house and gather their things. I activated the portkey so they could use it when they were ready—then I went to hold the soldiers off until they left."

James shook his head and rubbed his eyes, then looked at Harry with a frustrated expression. "Harry what did we just have a discussion about? You promised me you wouldn't take any more unnecessary risks. Going and trying to fight off Death Eaters, soldiers, or whatever the hell was there, just so the Grangers could grab some luggage sounds like an unnecessary risk. You're lucky that Moody isn't here because he would hex you until you couldn't stand."

Harry looked away, not willing to look his father in the eyes. "I know it was stupid, but I had just told this family that there were people coming to kill them and they had to leave their home. I can't even imagine what it's like to be uprooted like that, completely ignorant of what's going on. It probably doesn't mean much, but at least they would be able to have some of their personal things with them—and I didn't realize that there were that many soldiers at first."

James stared at his son, "Harry, you've got such a great heart—I can respect that you wanted to let the Grangers bring their things—but sometimes you've got to think with your head and not your heart. What would've happened if they had put anit-Apparation wards up around the house? You wouldn't have had any way out and right now, instead of sitting here speaking to you, I would be telling your mother and sister that you were dead."

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered with his head down.

"I know you are Harry," James stated calmly. "But I'm not going to send you out on anymore missions for a while—not until I'm sure you're ready. Now go to the medical building and get yourself looked at—I've been watching you grimace for the past ten minutes."


	13. Chapter 13

Harry pushed opened the door to the small hospital inside Warwick Castle, and nervously looked around for the one person who he was hoping to avoid at the moment. His mother was trained as a healer, but only worked occasionally in the hospital. He looked around and initially thought that he was in luck because he only saw the head healer, Madame Pomfrey, tending to a sick child, but he groaned audibly when he saw his mother walk out of the storage room with a handful of potion containers she must have been restocking. He had been holding the door open and as he let it go it slammed, alerting Lily Potter to his presence. She stared at him with a look of surprise and concern.

"Harry, what are you doing here? Are you hurt?" Lily asked, placing the potion bottles down on an empty bed and making her way quickly over. As she reached him she immediately began searching over his body until she turned him around and gasped at the view of his back. "Merlin Harry, this is horrible! Come with me, we need to clean this out." Harry nearly stumbled forward as his mother dragged him to a bed in the corner of the hospital. He carefully took a seat as his mother pulled a privacy curtain around the bed.

"Should I take my jacket off?" Harry asked when his mother turned back to face him.

She shook her head emphatically. "No, that wouldn't be wise. There are places where the fabric is melted to the skin in your back. There are some splinters too and if you were to take the jacket off they could make bigger cuts in your skin. I'm going to have to cut around all the damaged areas." She reached into a small cabinet that was on the wall next to the bed and pulled out a vial full of a deep red potion. Harry took it from her when she held it in front of him. "That's a pretty strong pain relieving potion—make sure you drink all of it. It should numb your back some, but this will still be painful."

Harry pulled the stopper off of the vial, and knowing the taste wouldn't be pleasant, threw it all back in one gulp. Just as he predicted, the bitterness immediately invaded his taste buds and he did his best not gag. Shaking his head he sat the vial down next to him and looked to his mother who seemed satisfied. "Should I lay down on my stomach or stay sitting up?" He asked.

"It's up to you, but I would suggest lying down," Lily answered pulling her wand out of the white healer's robes she was currently wearing. "Like I said, this will still be painful so if the pain is too much you will be more comfortable that way."

Complying with his mother's suggestion, Harry slowly swung his legs up onto the bed, and then flipped around so that he was on his stomach. He could feel the pain potion beginning to work because his back didn't hurt as much when he moved. He pulled the pillow from the top of the bed and put it under his chin so that he had something to rest his head on.

"Alright, I'm going to start cutting off the jacket, so make sure to stay still," Lily ordered. Harry heard her wand begin to slice into the jacket and the shirt, and felt some of the fabric slip off of his body. She cut off the sleeves and helped him to pull them off of his arms.

The next hour after that was one that Harry would rather forget. He spent most of the time biting into his pillow to prevent screaming as his mother pulled pieces of wood and cloth out of his burnt skin. He knew that she had tried to be gentle, but there was only so much she could do. She had just finished putting burn salve all over his neck and back, and pulled up a chair next to his bed so she could sit down.

Using a small cloth, Lily wiped the sweat away from her son's brow. "I know that wasn't pleasant, but you did really well sweetheart," she said softly. "What I want to know is how this happened."

Harry relaxed as his mother continued to wipe his forehead. "I showed up to the girl's house and talked with her and her family. Everything was going fine, they were really cooperative, and then Dumbledore's soldiers showed up."

Lily took the cloth away and brought both of her hands to her lap. "What did you do when you realized they were there?"

Harry immediately missed his mother's contact, but rested his head deeper into the softness of the pillow. "I left the Grangers to go gather anything important that they wanted to take with them and activated the portkey for them to use. Then I held off the soldiers until I heard them leave." Harry looked up at his mother and hated that she looked so worried. "I just got careless and turned my back to the front door. It could have been worse though."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, still clearly upset.

Harry waited a few moments before he answered his mother. "No one else made it back," he quietly stated, watching his mother's shocked expression. "The soldier's either knew we were coming or had already planned to. I'm thankful I'm just dealing with some burns." Harry realized his mother was crying, so ignoring his pain, he pushed himself off of the bed and moved over to embrace her.

Eventually his mother's tears stopped, but she held onto his soldiers so that he wouldn't move. "I know that you want to be involved Harry, and I know that eventually you'll have to, but you need to slow down alright," Lily said, softly but sternly. "You're going to drive me insane if you're running around fighting all the time."

Harry hugged her again. "I'm sorry that I worry you, but I need the experience if I'm going to get better and have any chance at Dumbledore. You might have a bit of a reprieve though, because I don't think Dad is going to let me out of the castle for a while."

Lily laughed lightly, "I guess I won't make him sleep on the couch anymore then." Harry chuckled as well and they separated and sat in silence for several minutes before Lily restarted the conversation. "So what's the family like, the Grangers I think you said?"

Harry smiled genuinely, "They're nice. The parents' names are Anne and Steven and the daughter's name is Hermione."

"Hermione—that's not a name you hear every day," Lily commented. "How old is she?"

Harry thought for a moment, "We're probably around the same age; we would have been in the same year at Hogwarts. She took the fact that she was a witch really well—seemed really interested in magic."

"Is she pretty?" Lily asked her son teasingly.

Harry groaned at his mother's question, but answered her anyway. "Yes mum, she's pretty."

"Just pretty?" She continued with a large grin.

Harry shook his head and ran his hand through his disheveled hair. "No, she's more than just pretty. Are you happy?" Harry asked, ready to steer this conversation somewhere else entirely.

Lily smile widely. "Of course I'm happy. My son is smitten with a beautiful girl. It's about time you found someone too. I know your training is important, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to spend time with someone special."

"Mum I'm not _smitten_," Harry denied, not looking at his mother and unconsciously fiddling with a fold in the sheet that covered the bed. "Honestly, I just met this girl."

Harry watched as his mother raised her hands in a placating manner, but continued to smirk. "Whatever you say sweetheart, but mothers can tell these things about their children. No matter how good you are at occlumency, I can still read you like an open book."

"Well, that's certainly an unsettling thought, so I think I'm going to head out if that's alright, before this conversation becomes anymore uncomfortable." Harry hopped off of the bed, eager and ready to walk out, but suddenly remembered that he was without a shirt and that wouldn't do with the freezing temperatures outside. He turned back towards his mother. "Do you have anything I can wear outside?"

Lily thought for a moment, "I think there may be a spare healer's robe in the storage room. Wait here and I'll go check for you." She stood up and walked through the privacy curtain. Harry heard her talking to Madame Pomfrey for a moment, but she was quickly back holding a white robe similar to the one she was currently wearing. He took the robe from her hands and slipped it on over his bare upper body.

"Can I go back and wash this burn salve off?" Harry asked his mother as he pulled the robe securely around himself.

"Your skin should be healed by the time you get back, so I think it's alright. And when you get back, make sure your sister is studying her charms work. I told her I was going to be testing her later tonight," Lily added pulling away the curtain from around the bed. Madame Pomfrey must have finished with her patient and gone to her office because she was nowhere to be seen. Harry walked next to his mother until they reached the main hospital door. "I'll only be a few more hours unless the hospital gets busy, so I'll fix dinner when I get back. Please try to stay out of here for at least a few more years Harry," Lily said giving Harry one last hug.

Harry patted his mother on the back, knowing it was pointless to promise he wouldn't be injured again—even though he wouldn't actively go out looking to be hurt, he spent more time in the hospital then most people he knew just from training. "I'll do my best mum. I'll see you back at home."

xXxXxXxXxXx

Walking into his family's flat, Harry sighed in relief at being able to rest and relax for a few hours. There was nothing quite like being home after a stressful day. He was trying not to think about the four resistance members and the muggleborn families who had likely perished, but the reality of it was too heavy to completely cast away. He didn't envy his father who had to give the dreadful news to the families.

As soon as he stepped inside, Harry slipped off the healer's robe and hung it onto the coat rack that was next to the door. He continued walking until he reached the sitting room, where he noticed his sister seated on the couch, with her jean clad legs tucked beneath her body. She had a pair of headphones on her ears and they were connected to a CD player that her parents had managed to acquire. Most electronics didn't work at the castle, but things with batteries tended to work. Vera had her head leaning back against the couch with her eyes closed, and her right hand was tapping her leg to the beat of the music that was inaudible to Harry.

Taking advantage of the fact that she hadn't noticed him yet, he snuck up behind the couch and pulled his wand out of his jean pocket. Crouching down, he cast a simple levitation spell on the couch and watched as it slowly began to rise off of the ground. Surprisingly, it took quite a while before he heard a high pitched scream from the other side of the couch. He quickly ended the spell and let the couch and his sister fall to the ground.

He couldn't help laughing at the look on her face when she hopped off of the couch, minus the headphones, and stared at him with her mouth agape. "That was mean Harry! You scared me you jerk," Vera yelled.

Harry settled down after a few moments and tried to put on a look of shame for his actions, but didn't fare very well. "Sorry V, it's been a lousy day so far and I needed something to cheer me up."

"Did it work?" Vera asked looking mildly sympathetic.

"A little bit," Harry answered. He reached over the couch and picked up the CD player that Vera had been using. "Aren't you supposed to be studying? I don't think they've made any audio versions of magical texts yet, so I know you weren't listening to them."

Vera put on an indignant expression. "I've already finished my reading, or else I wouldn't have been listening to music. It's not like I can actually practice anything, Mum and Dad won't let me have a wand yet."

Harry held his hands up in defense. "Hey I didn't mean to question you. I was on orders from Mum to check that you did your work. I had complete faith in you."

"_Sure_ you did," Vera commented sarcastically. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt, and what's that smell?" she asked switching topics.

Harry sighed tiredly before he answered. "It's a long story V. The stuff that smells is the burn salve that's all over my back."

"What happened?" Vera asked seriously, walking over to him and looking around at his back.

"I went on an assignment for Dad, and got into a fight again," Harry told her walking towards the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower, we can hang out after I get out and I'll tell you more if you want."

"What I want is you to stop getting hurt, so that you have an excuse not to take me flying," Harry heard her comment as he walked further down the hall. Harry just shook his head and entered the bathroom.

He walked over towards the shower, pulled the blue curtain back, and turned on the tap causing a stream of water to immediately start flowing. Reaching a hand in, he checked to make sure the temperature was desirable then quickly undressed out of what he still had on, only his jeans, boxers, and shoes. Stepping into the shower he began to relax the instant the warm water met his skin. The feeling was so addicting that he just stood under the spray for twenty minutes before actually washing. By the time he was finished, his skin resembled a prune, but his mind and body were definitely less tense.

After turning off the water, he exited the shower and dried off with a clean towel that was sitting on a small, white shelf next to it. Harry walked over to the sink and used his hand to rub off the steam fogged mirror above it. He turned his back to the mirror and was glad to see that it didn't look any worse for the wear, just a few red and rough patches of skin. Wrapping his towel around his waist, he headed for his bedroom.

Several minutes later, dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and a t shirt, Harry left his room and went in search of his sister. He was not surprised to find her still sitting on the couch, headphones back in place secured to her ears. She smiled at him when she saw him walk in, and Harry immediately felt bad about scaring her earlier. He went over and took a seat next to her. Vera leaned her head onto his shoulder, and Harry moved his arm around her small shoulders so that she was tucked into the crook of his arm. They just sat there in silence, enjoying each others' company. Not even realizing how exhausted he was, Harry leaned his head back against the softness of the couch and in no time was asleep.

xXxXxXxXxXx

"Harry, wake up."

Harry's eyelids quickly opened and he was met with the sight of his mother standing over him. He looked to his left and realized that his sister had moved and he was by himself on the couch. "What time is it?" Harry asked looking back up at his mother.

Lily pulled up the sleeve of her white blouse and checked the time on her watch. "It's almost six. How long have you been asleep?"

"A few hours," Harry answered, rubbing his eyes. "Where are Dad and Vera?"

Lily turned and took a seat next to her son. "You're father hasn't been back yet and your sister is in her room. How are you feeling?"

Harry shrugged, "A little stiff in the back, but I think that might be from falling asleep sitting up on the couch—other than that, I'm fine. Hopefully I can get back to training tomorrow—the last couple days have thrown off my routine."

"Don't overdo it," Lily ordered as she stood up again. "I'm going to start dinner; it should be ready in an hour or so."

Harry watched as his mother entered the kitchen and heard her start pulling things out. He was thinking about going back to sleep, and was just about to sprawl out—this time vertically—but stopped when he heard the front door open. Harry watched as his father walked in with a tired and solemn look on his face. James attention turned to his son when he realized he was seated on the couch.

"Did anyone make it back?" Harry asked quietly.

James shook his head sorrowfully. "We waited hours and there hasn't been any sign of them. If they were coming back they would have made it back by now. I just got finished breaking the news to the families." James came over and took the seat on the couch that his wife had vacated minutes ago. "All I can say is I hope they really are dead."

Harry almost broke his neck, turning it so fast to give his father an incredulous stare. "How the hell can you say that?" Harry questioned heatedly.

James shook his head ignoring his son's stare. "They're much better off dead than captured. If they're in Dumbledore's hands now then we should start praying for them because there isn't any guessing the terrors he's going to put them through. There won't be any mercy coming from him."

Harry backed down from his stared and transfixed his vision to his hands that were curled into fists in his lap. He couldn't deny that his father was right, those men were much better off dead than in the hands of Dumbledore's vicious soldiers—but it didn't make him feel better. There was still a chance those men were alive, but they couldn't do a fucking thing about it. Harry hated feeling so useless. Why was he the one who made it back?

"And what of the Grangers?" Harry asked trying to downplay his true interest.

"They still haven't decided," James answered, "said they wanted to sleep on it. I'll go back and talk to them in the morning. " James leaned over so that he could whisper to Harry, " And don't tell your mother, but Sirius is coming by the castle tomorrow. I'd rather like to avoid any altercations between them seeing as Sirius still has a black eye from their last meeting."

Harry laughed shortly, glad that his godfather was coming by again. It was one good thing to think about—well besides Hermione Granger whose image hadn't left his mind for most of the day.


	14. Chapter 14

"Come on Harry, I know you can do better than that," Sirius taunted as he swung his blade in a diagonal strike. Harry didn't even bother blocking the strike; he simply took a step to left effectively avoiding any harm. Of course this was how it often went when he was training with his godfather. Sirius knew he wasn't as good as Harry with a sword so he would do his best to taunt him and hopefully distract his attention. Harry really couldn't understand why he continued to do it because it never worked. Sirius swung at him again, but this time Harry held his sword vertically and blocked the attack.

They had been training for about an hour, outside of the castle as Sirius was trying to keep a safe distance away from Lily Potter and her vicious right hook. A few years back they had found the spot they were currently in and it had remained their own private dueling circle—and it really was a circle because there was a ring of trees that created an almost unnatural circular enclosure. The only other person that knew of the area was Harry's father. Moody was the one who trained Harry in dueling with a wand, but his wooden leg impeded his abilities with a sword, so that duty fell upon Sirius and occasionally James when he had time. But Harry's knowledge and ability of fighting with a sword had surpassed Sirius quite a bit of time ago—now they just fought for the friendly competition and the practice.

Harry took a big gulp of the cold winter air and it was more of a burning in his lungs than refreshing. Looking at his godfather across from him he could tell he was just as equally tired. Dueling with a sword was entertaining, but it was also exhausting. Harry could feel the muscles in his forearms throbbing from overexertion. Gripping the hilt of his sword tightly with both hands, he swung it down diagonally from his left side, forcing Sirius to bring his sword up high to block. The two swords remained locked together as the two men engaged in a battle of wills and strength. Harry, realizing neither was giving an inch, took his right leg and hooked it behind both of his godfathers'. Within a mere second, Sirius was on the ground, having had his legs swept from beneath him. Harry stepped on Sirius' arm that still held his weapon, pinning it to the ground, while he placed the tip of his sword at the center of the fallen man's black dragon hide armor, right above his rapidly beating heart.

As Harry looked down at his godfather with a tired, but satisfied smirk, he was interrupted by the presence of enthusiastic clapping. He looked over and saw it was his father smiling, leaning against a large tree. "Excellent work son—it seems we're going to have to find you someone more up to your abilities. Looks like old age is finally catching up with Padfoot here," James said looking down at his friend.

"Ha ha ha," Sirius stated dryly as he batted away Harry's sword which had still been resting on his chest, "I don't know what's so funny; we're the same age you bloody moron." Sirius lifted his sword, pushed back his cloak, and sheathed his sword at his side. "Most people would say I actually look younger than I actually am."

Harry snorted, "I don't think they come to that conclusion from your looks. It's more likely your level of immaturity."

Sirius looked offended. "What is this, pick on Padfoot day? Way to kick a man when he's down. I swear, all you Potters are ruthless. Lily likes to physically harm me and you two destroy my self-esteem."

Harry walked over and placed his left arm around his godfather's shoulders. "Don't think of it as destroying your self-esteem—think of it as controlling your inflated ego. We only do it because we love you."

Sirius shook his head and ruffled Harry's hair playfully. He looked over at James who was still leaning against the tree looking amused. "So what brings you out here on this lovely winter morning—besides the ego deflation?"

"I just needed to discuss something with Harry," James said leaving the tree and walking closer to the pair.

Sirius patted Harry on the back then started walking off towards the clearing in the trees that James had entered from. "I'll leave you to it then. I'll see you back at the castle."

After watching his godfather walk away, Harry sheathed his own sword, and then took a seat against a tree. "So what's going on?" Harry inquired of his father.

James pulled his jacket tightly around himself and took a seat next to his son. "Well, I went back and talked to the Grangers this morning," James started explaining.

"And?" Harry encouraged his father to continue.

"And…they've decided to stay. They didn't want to run and relocate, and the daughter wanted to stay and learn."

"Well, that's good," Harry replied not letting his true happiness that they were staying show.

"Yes, and this is where you come in. I know I said that I wouldn't give you any assignments for awhile, but I lied." Harry got an eager look on his face and James quickly moved clarify. "I'm not sending you out on a mission so don't get too excited. Like I said, young Ms. Granger wants to learn magic, but her age leaves us with a dilemma. We can't simply insert her into our schooling system with younger children or place her closer to her own age group with students who are much more advanced. That's why I want you to teach her, be her personal mentor."

Harry looked at his father with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't there somebody more qualified to teach her? I've never taught anything to anyone."

"I'm sure I could find someone else to mentor her, but I want you to do it. Consider it part of your training," James remarked.

Harry just looked at his father, now torn between feelings. On the one hand he wouldn't mind spending time with Hermione—and being her mentor meant _a lot_ of time with her. On the other hand though, he was never really one to have an extraordinary amount of patience, and teaching someone the basics of magic would most definitely test his patience. And this would likely interfere with his training as well. He was definitely torn, but judging by his father's demeanor he didn't really think he had much of a choice in the matter.

"Alright, I'll do it," Harry told his father. "When am I supposed to start?"

James patted his son on the back. "That's good son, I thought you might put up a fight. As for when you start, you'll have to discuss that with Ms. Granger. The good thing about this arrangement is you make your own schedule, everything is flexible. Why don't we head back and I'll take you to where their staying?" James stood up and started walking, but before he made it out of the tree line he turned back to Harry. "Oh, Harry one more thing."

"What's that?" Harry asked confused.

"Your mother said I should tell you that student teacher relationships are completely fine—in fact she says she encourages it in your case," James laughed as he watched his son put his head in his hands and fall backwards to the forest floor, groaning at his father's remarks.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Harry was confused at first as his father led him into the housing complex and started making his way towards his family's flat, but instead of stopping at their door they kept going until they reached the last door on the right side of the hall. The door wasn't closed, but just slightly cracked open. James reached it first and knocked a few times before grabbing the knob of the door and pushing it open. Harry let his father walk in, but before he followed, he slipped off his armor and took off his sword and sheath, leaning them against the wall in the hallway. He unconsciously straightened his shirt, and then followed his father's path.

Walking into the flat, he took a look around and saw it was set up almost identically to his family's. He didn't see anyone at first, so he walked over into the kitchen. Sitting at the dining table was Mr. Granger, his father, and Vera. His mother was up showing Mrs. Granger all of the features that the kitchen contained.

"So there isn't any electricity like you're used to," his mother was explaining to Mrs. Granger, "but everything still functions like it's supposed to. Everything charmed to work for its specific purpose. There's nothing too fancy, but essentials like the refrigerator, stove and oven all work perfectly."

Mrs. Granger walked over and fiddled around with the appliances before turning back around. "So where do we go to pick up food?" she asked.

Lily smiled, "There's a large storage room next to one of the castle's towers where you can find whatever you're looking for. We bring in supplies everyday from our suppliers in Europe. Why don't you and your husband come with me and we can take a tour of the grounds."

"That sounds like an excellent idea, doesn't it Steven?" Mrs. Granger turned to her husband.

"Of course it does. Let me just go get Hermione and we can be on our way," Mr. Granger said, pushing his chair away from the table and standing up. Before he could go though, James stopped him.

"Actually, Harry here has agreed to mentor your daughter and get her up to speed with where she should be with her magic. Why don't we leave them here to discuss how that's going to work and then they can catch up with us," James suggested. Harry noticed that Mr. Granger did not look very excited at leaving his daughter alone with him, but before he could say anything he was interrupted once again, this time by his wife.

"I'm sure Hermione would be excited to hear about what she's going to learn. She takes her education and her studies very seriously." Mrs. Granger looked towards Harry and pointed outside of the kitchen. "Hermione's in her room Harry. I think she was just finishing unpacking her things. It's the first one on the left."

"Thank you Mrs. Granger, we'll see you in a little bit." Harry walked out of the kitchen ignoring the fact the Mr. Granger was glaring at him.

He listened as the occupants in the kitchen all got up and left through the front door, heading off to start their tour. The hall was dark as the lamps weren't lit, but there was a single source of light emanating out of the room that Hermione was supposedly located in. Harry walked up to the open door and knocked on it so he wouldn't surprise the girl. The first thing he saw when he looked in was Hermione seated on the bed, pulling some things out of a large brown trunk set in front of her legs. Just like the first time Harry had seen, he was immediately struck by how beautiful she looked. He was amazed that even in just a pair of jeans and light-blue jumper with her hair tied back, she still looked unbelievably attractive to him. Harry immediately stopped his staring when the object of his affections turned her attention to him.

"Oh, Harry I wasn't expecting you! How are you feeling?" She asked, obviously referring to Harry's injuries obtained from rescuing them.

Harry smiled at her concern. "I'm feeling much better, thank you for asking. You'll find out that magical medicine works much quicker than muggle. Don't worry though; living around magical people long enough, you'll get to experience it firsthand."

"It seems like you know a lot about it," Hermione commented.

He couldn't help laughing. "You have no idea Hermione. I'm pretty sure for someone my age, I have the record for most time spent in the infirmary. Plus my mother works as a healer, so I know a lot about it."

Hermione frowned at his comments. "Is magic really that dangerous?" she questioned.

"It can be," Harry answered walking over and taking a seat in a spare chair that was in the room across from the bed. "And I really can't blame you for coming to that conclusion with everything you've been through recently, but magic can be really amazing when it's used for the right purpose. It's an awesome feeling when you can feel it coursing through your body right to the tips of your fingers."

"Will I be able to feel it?" Hermione asked. "I've made things happened before, but I haven't ever felt anything."

"It's at different degrees for different people, but once you become experienced enough you should. I've spent my whole life training so I'm more advanced than most people." They lapsed into silence for several seconds before Harry continued. "So the real reason I'm here is to let you know that I'm the one who is going to be teaching you. We have a school system, but you're sort of a unique case so you get to learn from me." Harry was pleased when he saw an excited look grace Hermione's face.

She lifted her bare feet from the floor and lifter her legs to sit on top of them on the bed. "Really? That's great, thank you so much. When do we get started?"

Harry thought for a second, "Well I actually just found out that I was teaching you so I haven't had much time to think up some sort of schedule. I'll work on that tonight and we can discuss it tomorrow. The first thing we need to do though is get you one of these," Harry stated, and held out his wand.

"Where do you get one?"

Harry twirled his wand in between his fingers. "There's only one place to get them here, seeing as we only have one wand maker. His name is Mr. Olivander. He's a little odd, but he's probably the best at his profession in the entire world. Come on, get ready and we'll take a walk down to Olivander's then stop and get a bite to eat."

"Alright, just let me slip on some shoes and a jacket," Hermione said, leaving her seat on the bed." Harry got up from his chair, giving her some privacy, and went to wait by the front door.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Soon Harry and Hermione were walking side by side in the slightly less frigid afternoon air. Olivander's was located in a row of small buildings that served as places where artisans could practice their crafts. The buildings were constructed in the shape of an L and stuck into the castle's right front corner, in front of one of the castle's six towers. They were simple wooden structures with small signs on the front that depicted what the building was used for. Harry and Hermione walked up to the one that had a wand with green sparks painted on it. The door, which had a small, square window built into, it was closed so Harry knocked three times to see if Olivander was in. There wasn't any answer at first, so Harry knocked again and this time got a response.

"Come in!" shouted an elderly voice from inside the building. Harry took hold of the wooden knob and pulled the door open, holding it for Hermione to enter through. She flashed him a grateful smile as she stepped inside the building. Harry followed after her, pulling the door shut after he was completely inside. To say the room was simply cramped wouldn't be enough to adequately describe its current condition. There was a large set of shelves on the left-hand wall that was bursting at the seams with various ancient-looking books and scrolls. The other two walls also contained shelves, but these were all stacked with thin boxes of various shapes, sizes and colors, each containing an individual wand. There were literally thousands of them scattered around the small building. Right at the center of the room was a large wooden desk, completely covered in various tools and gadgets. Seated right behind the desk, an extremely old man with white hair and eerie silver eyes was looking at the pair that had just entered.

"Ah, young Mr. Potter, what a pleasure it is to have you in my workshop. It's been quite a while since I've seen you. How is your wand serving you?" Olivander asked.

Harry gave his wand a small wave. "It's working just fine Mr. Olivander."

"Excellent," Mr. Olivander smiled. "And who is this lovely young lady with you? I don't think I've ever seen her around before."

Harry pulled Hermione up next to him as she had been a few steps back. "This is Hermione Granger, Mr. Olivander. She and her parents actually just arrived here. Her parents are muggles, but she's magical. That's why we're here; she's in need of a wand."

"Hello sir, it's a pleasure to meet you," Hermione added nervously shifting on her feet.

Olivander slowly pulled himself out of his seat. "A pleasure to meet you as well Ms. Granger," He said kindly. "Why don't we get started on finding you a wand?" He walked over to stand directly in front of Hermione and just stood and stared at her.

Harry knew Olivander was eccentric and his methods were definitely strange, but Hermione was getting a firsthand experience of her own. She was definitely looking uncomfortable as Olivander stood in front of her, chin resting on his hand, staring at her as if he was judging her and searching for something. It lasted for several more agonizing minutes before Olivander broke out of his stupor and hurried over to the shelves on the right wall of the building. He shifted through the boxes for a few more minutes before he walked back over carrying two wand boxes.

"Hmm, well I think I've narrowed it down between these so let's give them a try. Try this one first." Olvander pulled the lid off the first box and pulled out the wand, handing it to Hermione. She gripped the relatively short wand and hesitantly held it front of her body. "That's nine inches, mahogany with unicorn hair. Go ahead give it a wave," Olivander ordered.

Hermione tightly waved the wand across her body and watched amazed as several golden sparks shot out of the wand. She looked up at Olivander for guidance.

"That was alright, nothing spectacular though," he commented. "When you find the right wand you'll definitely feel it as it will react with your magic very strongly. You had a slight connection with the wand you're currently holding, but it's not the right one for you. Let's try next one." Hermione handed over her current wand while Olivander took out the next one and exchanged it. Doing the same as before, she waved it across her body. Unlike the previous attempt, this time the results were much more dramatic. As the wand moved a gust of wind shot out of the tip in all directions. Olivander was pushed backward until he was practically seated on his desk and even Harry was knocked off balance. Hermione looked completely stunned at what happened and was staring at the wand in complete fascination.

"Wow," she said, as Olivander got off his desk and made his way back over.

"I think we've found the right wand. That's ten inches, vine wood with dragon heartstring," Olivander explained. "That was most definitely the reaction we were looking for. That was one of the strongest reactions I've seen in quite some time—not as powerful as Mr. Potter here, who almost blew up my workshop, but still very strong." Hermione turned around and raised her eyebrows at Harry after hearing that comment, but he simply shrugged innocently. "Make sure you take good care of your wand now," Olivander commented putting away the extra wand. "It can malfunction if it becomes damaged or is dirty. I'm sure Mr. Potter can give you a tutorial on proper care."

"I'll be sure to do that Mr. Olivander," Harry assured him. "Thank you for all your help. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again soon at some point. My sister has been begging my parents for a wand, and she's almost worn them down."

"I look forward to it Mr. Potter. If she's anything like you, then maybe I should have the walls reinforced before she comes in," Olivander joked. Olivander then turned to Hermione, "Good luck with your wand Ms. Granger. I hope to see you around the castle as well."

Hermione smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you for your help and the wand Mr. Olivander. I'll be sure to take excellent care of it."

xXxXxXxXxXx

Five minutes later Harry and Hermione were outside again, now walking back towards the main portion of the castle on its left side.

Harry couldn't help but grin as he glimpsed at Hermione as they walked. She had barely taken her eyes off of her wand since she had received it, but she was holding it tightly with both hands as if she were afraid to move it.

"You know," Harry started telling her, "that you don't need to hold your wand in a death grip like that. It's alright to move it. Nothing's going to happen like what happened in Olivander's."

Hermione blushed when she realized what she was doing and tucked her wand into her jacket pocket. "Why won't it happen again?"

"Well," Harry began as they continued walking, "it could happen again, but not unconsciously. You would have to wave it and have some sort of intent for it to happen. What happened back there was like Olivander was explaining. Every witch or wizard has magic running through their body and when you're young you don't have any way to let it out. So usually a child has had the magic running through them contained for around a decade before they get their wand. The wand acts as a medium for the magic to exit, and with the initial contact with the child the constrained magic exits quickly—thus the occasional explosive results. It's usually not that bad though."

"Is that the only way that you can use magic though? I mean is a wand the only thing that can be used as a medium for magic?" Hermione asked curiosly.

"For most people yes," Harry answered. "It's the only object that's known to work, but a few people are able to use their magic completely without a wand."

"But that's rare?" Hermione continued.

"Very. Hardly anyone can use their full capabilities without a wand and a few more can use small amounts. Don't worry because we won't be working on that anytime soon."

"Can you do it though?"

Harry stopped walking and turned to face Hermione who stopped as well. He held up his empty right hand and showed it to Hermione. Then, he slowly closed his fingers into a tight fist. He waited another second, and then quickly opened his hand. Hermione gasped as she looked on and saw the top of a fully bloomed red rose in his palm.

"I can do certain things without a wand," Harry explained, "mostly just small stuff and that's taken me a while to learn. I'm still working on it, but don't say anything about it to anyone. My father and my other instructor believe it's a waste of time. I'm not going to give up on it though."

Hermione picked up the rose out of his hand and examined it as if to make sure it was real. She looked back up at Harry sincerely. "You have my word I won't say anything."

"I appreciate it Hermione. Now let's go get something to eat."

"Where are we going?" Hermione inquired.

"We're going to one of the other castles," Harry answered, then turned to give a Hermione a playful look. "I hope you're ready for your first floo travel experience.


	15. Chapter 15

Harry quickly stepped out of the blazing green flames and out of the fireplace. He completely ignored the new people that were in the room and paid strict attention to the fire. He had gone first through the floo in order to demonstrate to Hermione how the process worked. Under normal circumstances he probably would have held onto her and taken her at the same time, but as it was, the floo was restricted and limited in the places that could be traveled to; thus Harry wasn't really concerned about Hermione coming out the wrong floo and getting lost.

Although he wasn't concerned for Hermione's safety, he should have been more concerned for his own; because as the emerald flames sparked into life once again, Hermione's novice, floo- traveling body soared out of the hearth and straight into Harry's ill prepared self. He grunted as the air was forcefully evacuated from his lungs, and he fell back onto the stone floor with a painful thump. Seeing stars for several seconds, his vision adjusted and he realized he was looking straight into Hermione's wide eyes and flustered face. She looked to be trying to say something, but her lips just kept moving, unable to produce any sound. Whether that was because there was a whole room full of people watching behind them or because she and Harry's bodies were pressed firmly together, Harry couldn't say.

Finally able to produce a sound, Hermione spoke. "I am so sorry Harry! I was traveling so fast, and I couldn't get my balance, and I couldn't stop myself!"

Harry couldn't help but smile at her nervous ranting, he quickly moved to intervene before she started hyperventilating. "Hermione—Hermione, it's alright. Nobody has an easy time the first time they floo by themselves. Really it's my own fault. I should have been ready to catch you when you came out."

Hermione shook her head, "I still feel like a complete idiot. Especially with all these people staring at us," she finished whispering.

Harry took a glance back into what was the Great Hall of Pembroke Castle and could see about a dozen people sitting at a few long, dark, wooden tables. The wizards and witches had ceased their previous activities and were looking at the two teens on the floor with various reactions. Some of the older occupants were looking at them scandalized while the younger ones looked somewhat amused. Again, Harry didn't really know any of them personally, just by face recognition.

He looked back at Hermione reluctantly. "As much as I'm enjoying lying with a beautiful girl on top of me, I think we better get up."

Hermione seemed to have momentarily forgotten where she was because she blushed brightly, and scurried to her feet, all the while apologizing profusely. As soon as she was up and adjusting her clothing, Harry sat up, picked up his wand which he had dropped when he was speared and got to his feet as well. Noticing the people still watching, Harry gave them a bright smile and a wave before placing a hand on the small of Hermione's back and leading her out of the Hall.

The Hall opened up into another small hallway and then after traveling through another door they made it out into fresh air. They stopped when they made it outside as Hermione was taking a chance to finally get a good glimpse of her surroundings.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked as she spun around admiring the castle walls.

"Wales," Harry answered, "or Pembroke Castle to be more exact." Harry looked on concerned when Hermione's face took on a disappointed frown. "What's wrong Hermione?"

She shook her head, "It's nothing, really. Just that I'm pretty knowledgeable about history and I can't believe I didn't recognize this place."

Harry leaned his back against the thick castle walls. "Don't beat yourself up too much Hermione," Harry consoled. "It's harder to distinguish a castle when you're looking at it from the inside. I'm sure if we were up on one of the towers you would immediately recognize it. The castle is literally right on the Pembroke River."

Immediately intrigued, Hermione looked at him pleadingly, "Can we go have a look?"

Harry looked at her pleading face with her big brown eyes and realized that if she kept looking at him like that she could probably ask him to jump off the castle walls and he would do it without much hesitation. As it was he nodded. "I just have to warn you though; once you look past the water, everything else is gone. The towns have been completely burned by Dumbledore's soldiers." Hermione nodded, acknowledging that she understood. Harry led her up to top of the wall of the castle and then to the North Turret that was right on the edge of the river. He hung back some while Hermione went right up to the edge of the wall.

It had been ages since he had been up on one of towers. He looked around and admired the fortress that was Pembroke Castle. It was a large structure separated into two different sections, and inner bailey and outer bailey. The walls that bordered land were immensely thick, while the ones on the water were thinner due to the water's added protection. The gatehouse stood out impressively in the distance and Harry could see several men standing looking on it. Stopping his own musing, he turned around where Hermione was still looking out.

"How could they do this?" Hermione asked quietly still not looking away.

Harry could pretty clearly guess to what she was referring to. "Horrible isn't it? It's even sadder that this is what most of the United Kingdom looks like now—well, the muggle areas anyway."

"What do you mean?" Hermione questioned, finally turning to face him.

"You have to understand," Harry started, "that before Dumbledore claimed power that there was a strict agreement of secrecy between the magic and non-magic populations. Magical institutions were hidden away right under the noses of muggles."

"Why was it that way though? Why couldn't the two communities coexist?" Hermione continued, trying to control her hair that was blowing in the cool breeze.

Harry sat down against one of the walls to avoid the wind. "That's a really complicated question. A lot of it has to do with fear. Looking back through history, people who did things that were considered weird or unnatural were persecuted and killed by other _normal people._ Hiding was a means of self preservation that started for magical population hundreds of years ago."

"What changed that led to this situation now?"

"An increasing magical population to begin with; the number of witches and wizards has soared throughout the years. Add to that hostility towards the muggles for having to hide away, and you end up with Dumbledore's rhetoric," Harry explained. "That's why we're all here Hermione. Any tie to muggles was looked down on as a treasonous act. However, Dumbledore _graciously _allowed for us to flee before threatening our lives," Harry added sarcastically, with menace in his voice.

"Is there any hope at stopping him?" Hermione asked.

"There's always hope Hermione," Harry exclaimed. "It's just that right now we aren't in a position to do much. Dumbledore has too many allies at this point, and trying to fight him head on would be insanity and suicide on our part. Right now we have to settle on gathering intelligence and on small victories—you being one of them."

"Me?" Hermione looked skeptical.

Harry nodded. "Of course, getting you away from harm was a victory for us. Who knows, maybe after some time under my _amazing_ tutelage, you'll turn into our secret weapon?" Hermione looked at Harry like he was crazy for several seconds before they both dissolved laughing. "Alright maybe not secret weapon, but definitely accomplished witch," Harry conceded.

"I'll take that," Hermione added with a grin. "Now didn't you say something about food?"

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

After making their way back down from the turret, Harry led Hermione from the inner bailey to the outer bailey where some additional buildings had been constructed after their group had taken up residence. There was a moderately large stone structure built up against the left side of the castle wall which was their destination. As they approached, loud laughter and talking could be heard as well a smell of cooking wafting out towards them. Harry pulled the door open and the sound was immediately magnified. He held the door open for Hermione and they entered the building.

The pub they entered was almost filled to capacity. It was easily the most popular place in any of the castles. It been had set up to try to instill some sense of enjoyment and normalcy to the Resistance's members. The whole place was made up of two rooms: one large main room that held a bar and twenty round tables, and another smaller room that housed a kitchen. There were chandeliers that provided lighting from the ceiling and several paintings and tapestries that were affixed to the stone walls.

Nobody paid them much attention as they entered, so Harry pulled Hermione along as she admired the room. The finely crafted wooden bar was situated in the rear of the building with the kitchen behind it separated by a wall. Harry led them to a table relatively near the bar and gestured for Hermione to sit on one of bar stools that surrounded it.

"Is fish and chips alright with you Hermione?" Harry asked her. "I promise their really good if not very original."

"Oh, that's fine Harry, thank you," Hermione replied.

"What about to drink? We have something called butterbeer, which is really good or I think we have some muggle stuff if you prefer," Harry stated.

"Whatever you're having is fine with me."

"I'll be right back then," said Harry as he turned and walked up to bar. There were two people working behind it, preparing drinks and taking orders for food. He didn't recognize the older gentlemen, but younger girl he did. As she finished pouring a drink for one of the people at the bar, she saw him and smiled as she made her way over.

"Hello Harry," said the girl, Susan Bones. Her family lived in Pembroke and her Aunt Amelia was the one in charge of running the castle. Harry knew her pretty well as their families spent a significant amount of time together and also from the time he spent in the pub. "Haven't seen you in a few days," she continued before pulling a ribbon from the brown apron she was wearing and tying her long, blonde hair back.

Harry chuckled, "Yeah, well the past few days have been sort of crazy."

She gave him a stern look, "been getting into trouble?"

"Ah, you could say that," Harry confessed. "Nothing too bad though. Can I get two butterbeers and two fish and chips please?" Harry had quickly looked back to check on Hermione and Susan had obviously noticed.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "On a date Harry? Haven't seen that before."

"It's not a date Susan," Harry immediately corrected. "She's my new protégé."

"Protégé?" Susan asked curiously.

Harry rubbed a hand through his messy hair, "It's a long story Susan, but she's a muggleborn we rescued from Dumbledore—never knew she was a witch so I get to teach her."

"Oh," Susan laughed, "good luck with that Professor."

"Ha ha, just get the drinks," Harry mock glared. Susan raised her hands in defense and turned back to pour their drinks from the correct tap. Susan brought the drinks over then went to the kitchen to put in their order. Harry picked the mugs up carefully as not to tip them, and made his way back over to the table that Hermione was seated at, still adjusting to her surroundings. "I got you a butterbeer." Harry placed one of the mugs in front of her. "I guarantee you'll enjoy it."

Hermione smiled and picked up the mug from in front of her. She raised it to her lips and took a tentative sip. Harry was happy to see her smile increase after she had a chance to taste it. "Wow, this really is goo Harry, thanks. Any other amazing wizard drinks you haven't told me about?"

"Well, I think you should stick to the butterbeer for now because the other stuff has a little bit of a kick if you know what I mean. It's only for drinking if you don't want to feel good the next morning," Harry advised.

"Speaking from personal experience?"

"Only once and never again," Harry answered looking extremely regretful. "My godfather thought it would be a good idea, but my mother almost killed him when she found me passed out in the bathroom the next morning. How about you, any bad situations?"

Hermione immediately looked sad. "I never really got the chance to do anything like that. I mean most of the people my age and their families left when things started to get really bad. It was definitely lonely growing up."

"Why did you stay if you don't mind me asking?"

Hermione shrugged after taking another sip of her drink. "I don't really know. Looking back now it seems extremely foolish, but we just didn't want to leave. Our community was really one of the only ones that were still functioning, and my parents were still working. We were just stubborn I guess."

"What did you do for schooling?"

"Well, my regular school didn't shut down for awhile," Hermione explained, "And after it did I just really studied on my own. It wasn't too bad really, I enjoy reading and it gave me a chance to focus on whatever I wanted to."

Harry took a large gulp of his drink before continuing. "That's good because when we go back I'm going to give you some books that you can start reading. It's just some background material to get you started, but it's still important."

"I look forward to it," Hermione smiled.

"Alright here we go," came Susan's voice from beside them, interrupting their conversation as she placed their food in front of them. "Enjoy you two."

xXxXxXxXxXx

The second trip through the floo was much more successful then the first for Hermione, as she only stumbled instead of being propelled out like a missle. The two teenagers had enjoyed their meal and had just relaxed and walked further around the grounds of Pembroke Castle before deciding to head back to Warwick. They had been out so long that it had started to get dark.

"I hope you parents aren't mad that I kept you out so late. I said we would meet up with them, but obviously that didn't happen," Harry commented worriedly.

Hermione laughed, "I wouldn't be too concerned, my parents aren't really ones to panic. And you did save our lives, so the fact that I'm with you probably has them at ease."

"Yeah, well you didn't see the look your father was giving me earlier," Harry said rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"He's all bark and no bite, don't worry about him Harry."

They walked back in peaceful silence to the housing complex and Harry stopped into his family flat to pick up the appropriate texts for Hermione. After he had found them, he escorted her back to her new flat and was immensely pleased when her mother answered the door and not her father.

"Hello Mrs. Granger," Harry greeted her. "Sorry we're back so late, but Hermione was interested in taking a tour of one of the other castles and we got caught up."

She smiled kindly at him. "It's no trouble Harry, we just got back ourselves. Make sure you thank your parents again for us for showing us around."

"I will Mrs. Granger." She patted him on the arm then disappeared back into the flat leaving Hermione and himself standing at the door.

"Well, I enjoyed myself today Harry. Thank you for taking me around," Hermione said gratefully. "I'm going to go get started on these books so I'm prepared for when we start."

Harry leaned against the wall, his hands playing with the ends of his jacket. "I enjoyed myself as well. I needed this after the past few days. And don't stay up too late on those books, make sure you get some rest," Harry ordered gently.

"I will Harry, see you tomorrow," she promised as she made her way inside and closed the door.

"Goodnight Hermione," Harry said quietly after she had already closed the door. He shook his head and started slowly walking back towards his flat.


	16. Chapter 16

It was mid January and Harry had been officially working with Hermione for around two weeks. Two weeks was not a long period of time, however, it was long enough for Harry to realize that Hermione's mother had not exaggerated a bit when she said Hermione took her education seriously. The young girl's mind was a sponge, soaking in everything Harry had to tell her and every bit of knowledge she could glean from the books he provided her with-not that everything had gone smoothly so far. Her practical ability was not quite up to measure with her analytical skills. More than once Harry had had to put something out that Hermione had accidentally set on fire. Although there had been some bumps in the road, Harry had been rather impressed with himself for not losing his patience. He was sure it had something to do with the fact that it was Hermione he was working with, and the fact that he found her attractive and enjoyable to be around.

It was a Saturday and Harry and Hermione were practicing some simple dueling techniques at Stokesay Castle while Vera flew around a safe distance off the ground on her broomstick. Harry had made sure he spent some extra time with his sister as he knew she felt somewhat left out with all of the time he was working with Hermione. He had not only taken her flying as he had promised originally, but made sure to do it at least twice a week. His parents were not aware however, that he allowed her to fly around on her own. He was pretty sure they thought he flew side by side with her, practically holding her hand at all times to make sure she did not fall off. They had never seen her fly as Harry had though, and if they did, they would realize that she was extremely talented at it for her age.

He glanced at his sister for a second as she fearlessly pulled off loop before he turned his attention back to his trainee. "Alright Hermione," Harry instructed, "I want you to try disarming me. Remember what we talked about yesterday. First, focus on your target. Second, give a clear pronunciation of the spell and make sure you have the intent in your mind for what you want the spell to do. And what's the final part?"

"Keep my wand straight and on my target so that the spell is accurate," Hermione answered with little hesitancy. She got into a balanced stance, looked squarely at Harry, almost glaring at him with such extreme focus. She lifted her wand, shouted out the incantation and made sure the spell shot straight at Harry's chest.

Harry was not going to try and block the spell, so he let it hit him dead on. As it impacted his body he staggered backwards a step onto his heels and felt the wand plucked from the grip of his fingers. It flew into the air for few seconds, but landed just a few feet away from where he was standing. He walked over to grab his wand and looked over again at Hermione who was clearly waiting for some kind of feedback on her performance.

"That was really good work," Harry commended. "For the most part, when you use _Expelliarmus_, you want the wand to stay lofted in the air and come back towards you so you can catch. It just requires a little more concentration."

Hermione nodded, listening to his critique. "So that was good for a first try?"

"Definitely. Even though my wand didn't go very far, it was still enough to take it out of my hand and have to retrieve it. If that were to happen in a real fight, it would distract your opponent for enough time that you could get another spell off that they couldn't shield themselves against. It was excellent for a first try."

Hermione beamed at him excitedly. "Can we try it again?"

"Of course."

The two spent another half an hour focused solely on the disarming spell. Each time Hermione repeated the process she made a little more progress until the very last time she only had to move inwards a few feet to catch Harry's dislodged wand. Vera had come down from the air by then and had taken to cheering for Hermione from the side as she watched. Harry had decided it was good note to end on so he conjured up a fire to sit around and get warm. He pulled out a thick blanket he had brought with him and placed it on the ground so they would not have to sit on the frigid earth. Harry took a seat first and Vera and Hermione took a seat on either side of him.

"Harry, are there normally so many people up on the towers guarding the castle? I don't think I've seen this many since I've been here," Hermione questioned. She was staring up at the main tower and front entrance to the castle where there were at least twenty wizards standing as sentinels.

Harry sighed and shook his head. "No not usually. From what I could gather, some of our spies have been reporting back about increased activity by Dumbledore's soldiers. They've been spreading out and covering more ground then they normally do. Nobody's really sure what it means, but we're taking extra precautions just in case."

"You don't think they're looking for us do you?" Vera asked with a shake to her voice.

Harry stretched out an arm and placed it across her shoulder. "I don't know V, maybe. There's really no way to tell. If they're looking for us or have any clue where we are, I doubt they would come out and announce it, Dumbledore's too smart for that. He'd know we would have some way of getting a warning."

"Plus," Hermione started, "Even if they did know something, we all aren't in one place. The chances are much lower that they would know something about all of the castles."

"Right," Harry agreed. "We have plans for if something were to happen. If one of the castles is attacked, we hold them off until we can evacuate, go to another castle and destroy the floo connection so there isn't a trace." Harry tried not to look too concerned, but he knew those sort of contingency plans usually never worked out as wanted. The truth was, at some point in each and every day he thought about being found. He didn't worry about himself, but simply the people he cared about being hurt. They could hide away for years and years, but Harry knew one day something bad would happen. He just hoped he was prepared for it when it did.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Later that night, Harry sat at his kitchen table drinking a cup of tea by himself-well he wasn't actually drinking the tea he was floating the cup through the air using just his hand. He was trying to move away from the simple magical parlor tricks onto more substantial tasks with his wandless abilities. He was on his third different teacup as he had already broken the first two on only semi-successful attempts. Unfortunately he destroyed his current cup as well when someone clearing their throat behind them caused him to break his concentration. Harry huffed loudly as the cup cracked into pieces on the floor. He turned around and glared at his father who just stared back at his son.

"You couldn't have waited until the cup was not floating in the air could you? I've already got to fix two other cups that have broken before Mum finds sees them."

James walked over and plopped down into the seat directly across from him. "It wouldn't have happened at all if you weren't so damn stubborn and just used your wand."

"Hey, you just saw I had the thing floating. I'm really making progress!" Harry argued.

"Look, you're really good with magic Harry, but wandless magic is just something that even the most powerful wizards and witches never master. I've no doubt that you can pull it off to some small degree, but it is not something you want to come to rely on. I don't want you going into a fight overconfident and thinking you can always do it on command. One little mistake can cost you your life in a fight, and it just isn't worth it son."

Harry just shook his head at his father's attitude and let the subject drop. James gave him a pointed look, but let it drop as well. "Where are my two favorite girls at?" James asked.

"Vera tired herself out flying earlier so she went to bed. Mum is giving all of the Grangers some potions lessons I think."

"Why aren't you giving her potions lessons? I thought that fell under your purview as her instructor," James asserted.

"I absolutely refuse to teach potions to anyone," Harry exclaimed. "Mum is excellent at it and I'm certainly not, so it will be better for Hermione in the long run to do it this way. Plus she gets to spend some time with her parents." If there was one thing that he absolutely despised learning about, it was potions. He had studied enough about them to satisfy his mother, but they just were not engaging enough for him. Sitting in one place for hours and hours, inhaling fumes was not how he liked to spend his time. Not that he didn't appreciate potion making to a point, he had taken enough of them to heal various ailments to have a respect for them.

"That is true," James conceded. "It's also nice that her parents have some medical training in their background so they can stay busy helping out. I mean, there are other muggle family members in the castle, but they've all been exposed to this world for awhile now. It's a big adjustment for them to have to make in a short period of time."

"I think they've both been pretty good with handling everything," Harry commented. "Mrs. Granger is really sweet, but I think Mr. Granger may be out for my blood. If looks could kill, I'd be dead many times over. He thinks I'm going to corrupt his daughter."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?" Harry asked momentarily confused.

"Trying to corrupt her," James answered with a grin.

"Maybe," Harry responded with a grin of his own. "She is a breath of fresh air in this place that's for sure." Harry suddenly got serious again. "So where have you been all day?"

"Talking with Remus for most of it. He was still in pretty bad shape from the full moon the other night. He's been keeping tabs on some of the more prominent werewolf packs around Europe. Someone found him snooping and roughed him up a bit."

"Is he alright?" Harry asked concerned. He rarely ever got to see his father's other best friend. Remus was very much a recluse compared to Sirius, but was always willing to volunteer whatever he could to do to help the cause. Harry hated that he sequestered himself away just because he was concerned about other peoples' fears of him.

"Yes, just a few bumps and bruises. Although you know Mooney, he'd never admit to it if it was worse. What's more concerning is that Remus told me that there have been an increase of mainland werewolves coming to England. Word has it that Dumbledore has been enticing them with promises of large settlements just for their kind."

"They're fools if they actually believe he'll follow through on any of that. The blood purists hate half-breeds almost as much as muggles."

"It's worked in the past though, unfortunately," James informed him. "It's likely they've been given an open license to hunt any stragglers on the new Minister's list of disfavored people."

"Well, we've known from the beginning we would have to deal with them at some point. They were never going to join our resistance," Harry reasoned.

"It could be worse, you know. At least we only have to worry about them once a month."

Harry chuckled darkly. "Wonderful, we only have to worry ourselves over hordes of rabid beasts looking to gouge our throats and tear apart our limbs once a month. Excuse me if I'm not exactly comforted by that fact." As soon as Harry finished speaking his father adopted a thoughtful expression and suddenly stood and disappeared out of the room. Harry was a little concerned that he had said something to upset him, but only a few minutes later, James returned holding something wrapped in a thin piece of black cloth. Sitting back down, James pulled the cloth away to reveal a short, ornately decorated dagger.

"The blade on this dagger is embedded with pure silver," he explained. "When we were in school and became friends with Remus he was always afraid that he would hurt someone with his condition. It was always his worst nightmare that he would lose complete control or that he would overpower Sirius or I. One year he gave us all these daggers in case anything were to go completely to pieces."

"Hold on, so he gave you the daggers in case you ever needed to kill him?"

"Yes," James replied.

"I would say that's completely unbelievable and terribly morbid, but that does actually sound like something that Remus would do."

"It does, and we weren't exactly thrilled to take them, but it appeased Remus. Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea if you held onto it. You never know when you might find a need for it. It also gives me some peace of mind to know you have it."

Harry grabbed the knife from his father and was lost in admiration of both its craftsmanship and nefarious purpose. He took the cast aside cloth that his father had left on the table and wrapped the dagger again carefully, placing it down in front of him. Hopefully he would never need it, but he severely doubted it.

"Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention," James started, "Moody is coming by tomorrow to put you through your paces. Told me he didn't want you unpracticed."

"Sounds like fun," Harry scoffed. "Guess I better go get some rest, Moody always exhausts the hell out of me."

XxXxXxXxXxXx

The next morning, just around dawn, Harry and Hermione were walking the grounds of Stokesay once again, this time waiting for Moody to show up and begin his training-or cruel form of punishment as Harry sometimes liked to refer to it. He had told Hermione it wasn't necessary for her to come, but she, being her inquisitive self, had requested to enthusiastically. She carried with her a notebook and another large book on transfiguration that she was in the middle of digesting. Currently she was in the process of bouncing various questions off of him.

"So, I guess what I'm getting from my reading is that the thing that is being changed in the transfiguration process doesn't really change. Well, it does, but it doesn't. How exactly does that work?"

Harry considered her question for a few seconds before formulating an answer that would hopefully be comprehensible. "Yes, your right, the object you want to change is being changed but, only in appearance really. It's useable as whatever you choose to change it into, but only temporarily. Underneath the illusion that the magic creates is still the original object that you changed. It's really one of the most difficult branches of magic and we haven't even begun discussing the changing of living beings. Have you had any more luck changing the needle into a quill?"

"A little bit," Hermione responded. "It's not all the way there yet, but I've been able to make it longer and it certainly looked less metallic."

"That's progress then. Soon enough you'll get a feel for the change and it will make it easier to do larger objects. You're doing really well so far Hermione. I'm really proud of how much you've picked up in such a short time."

Hermione blushed at the praise. "Thank you Harry. It helps to have a good teacher."

This time it was Harry's cheeks that reddened slightly. "Don't give me too much credit, you're the one putting in the time. Anyway, I wanted to ask you how you were handling everything so far. I know we've been so busy teaching you magic, but I hope you haven't been completely overwhelmed by everything."

"Not overwhelmed, not really" Hermione explained as she took a seat on a wooden bench. "I guess I'm still trapped in this bubble of amazement that I'm a witch. Spending your whole life as a normal, ordinary girl and then being told you can do things that were only ever real in childhood fairy tales is something I'm still dealing with. Then there's also the fact that someone tried to kill me and probably would still like to see me dead."

Harry waked over and seated himself next to her on the bench. "They may want you dead Hermione, but they failed on the first try and they'll fail on every other try as well as long as I'm still here." Harry was pleasantly surprised when she reached over and grabbed hold of his left hand, giving a firm squeeze. He couldn't help but stare into her eyes which looked right back into his own. "As much as I want you to stay here, I don't want you to feel like this is your only option. There are schools for magic elsewhere in the world Hermione, you need to make the decision on what's best for you and your family. Nobody would think the less of you if you decided to go. I wouldn't think less of you."

Hermione looked away into the distance, her loose hair blowing in the slight wind of the morning. She stayed that way for a minute before turning back towards him. "Why do you stay Harry?" she asked almost desperately. "You all have a way out, why not just leave as well? They outnumber us by so many, how do we have any hope of winning against such a force?"

Now it was Harry's turn to look away from the emotional young woman. What was he supposed to say to her? He had known her such a short time, there was no way he was ready to lay out his burden that was the prophecy in front of her. He wanted to, he could feel the words trying to roll off of his tongue, but with a heroic effort he held them back. "We have to stay Hermione. There are things that I just can't tell you yet, but it goes beyond that. Dumbledore can't just take away everyone's home, he can't exile the people he doesn't think are worthy of being in his presence. Every artifact, every old spell book, Hogwarts itself belongs to and is a part of every single person who has magic running through their veins. Blood status is meaningless, but we've all decided its worth shedding our own in order take back what we've already lost."

Hermione looked at Harry, and he could tell she was impressed with his speech. "I have the same magic running through my veins that you do Harry, so I guess all those things that belong to you belong to me as well. I can't leave now." She reached out and brought her arms around Harry's neck, embracing him tightly, as if she had no plan to let go. However, just as Harry was beginning to enjoy this new contact, a gruff voice forced them to part.

"This is all so ruddy sweet Potter, but we're here to train your arse, not bloody hug. Grab your wand and prepare to defend yourself before I turn you into a duck." Knowing that Moody wasn't joking by any means, Harry looked back at Hermione and released his grip on her arms reluctantly. He way going to say something to her, however, the cutting curse that Moody sent aimed at his back forced him to forestall the conversation for another time, preferably without the presence of the old auror.


End file.
